On Thursday, September 12, 2013, Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett addressed the media following an afternoon practice at Redskins Park in Ashburn, VA.
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On playing cornerback E.J. Biggers at safety against Philadelphia after a week of practice:
"First of all, you don't know if he only practiced there for a week – he was there a lot longer than that. So he actually worked, and he actually did a nice job."
On his assessment of how the defense played vs. Philadelphia:
"Obviously we didn't play very well in the first half, for a number of different reasons. And we played much better in the second half, so that's probably how I judge it. It doesn't make a difference whether you were Okie, nickel or whatever, it's just bottom line we didn't play very well in the first half and then we did much better in the second half."
On if he'll assess the defense differently in the game against Green Bay because it's the first time using the defensive scheme he envisioned:
"No, you're not going to second guess us, we played the same defense in the second half that we played in the first half but we played it much better."
On if linebacker Brandon Jenkins will continue to play only one snap moving forward:
"I hope not, but it's one of those situations that we knew going into the game it was going to be that way."
On if players were out of position or if they didn't make plays in the game against Philadelphia:
"Well, we had a little bit of both. We had guys in position to make plays. We missed a bunch of tackles. And we had guys that were out of position, and not because we didn't rep it and not because we didn't work it, it's because of the speed, guys had communication issues and some other stuff. Which we can take care of that, like we did in the second half. We did much better in the second half doing it."
On if he expects to have safety Brandon Meriweather against Green Bay:
"I'd love to have him back. I haven't seen him play for so long. I'm not sure. But hopefully – I said the same thing last week and he didn't play last week, so we'll see."
On the adjustments he made to the defense at halftime:
"We cleared some things up for them that made it easier. We did some things on defense, probably scheme-wise, that helped them out. We actually did it about the middle of the second quarter."
On Biggers' play:
"He actually played well. E.J. had nothing to do with what happened in the first quarter."
On if it was unusual that Biggers would play safety:
"For you, maybe. If you're a football player, probably not."
On what he saw from Biggers that made him a natural choice to fill in at safety:
"He runs a 4.31 [40-yard dash]. That's why. We wanted to get some more speed on the field."* *
On what challenges Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers presents:
"He's probably one of the top two quarterbacks in the league. You don't see too many people stopping him. That's a great challenge for our defense because what he's going to do, they do a lot of similar things. He checks off, he runs the show. You've got to do a great job of giving him different looks. He figures it out fast. This guy can do everything. He can throw, they can run it, he's athletic, he runs, so this is a great challenge for us. We played them a couple of years ago, but since then, he keeps improving."
On how difficult it is to maintain eye discipline and assignments against a mobile quarterback like Rodgers:
"That's the challenge because he takes off and runs and balls are going deep, they're going to the sideline. His athleticism keeps him alive in the pocket so you have kind of the same challenges you had last week."
On what Packers running back Eddie Lacy adds to their offense:
"He's a tough guy, a steady back. He can catch the ball, a pretty good blocker. Obviously he's an upgrade from what they've had in the past. Looks like a good football player from what I've seen. Even [running back Johnathan] Franklin and the kid from University of Buffalo [running back James Starks], I think they're all pretty good players."
On if the Packers' improved running attack makes it more difficult to defend Rodgers:
"It obviously does because now they can run the ball and you can't line up in eight-man fronts to stop the run. You've got to kind of be careful with what you are doing, but you've got to pick and choose with this team."
On if he has to remind players to stop the run when playing a team that is known for passing:
"We always emphasize trying to stop the run. Obviously we didn't do a very good job last week, but it's one of those situations that, you don't want to give every team the situation where they can do both. You have to take something away."
On if working with Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy in the past helps him to game plan for their offense:
"I used to sit in his meetings all the time. As the head coach, I would sit in the offense's meetings on third down and the red zone, so I know how he thinks. I don't know what the hell he's going to do, but I know how he thinks."
On performance of nose tackle Barry Cofield and if his cast will change for the Green Bay game:
"I think any time you have a club you are going to be limited. Sometimes he had a hard time getting off blocks and he missed a couple of tackles because of the hand, but for the most part he did all right. I think he'll be in that for a while. I'm not sure how long, but it will be a while."
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