August 6, 2015

Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center – Richmond, Va.

 Head Coach Jay Gruden

On the injury report:

"I'll go over a couple of the injuries real quick. DeSean Jackson has an AC sprain, he's one to two weeks. D-Hall has a groin, he'll be day to day. Jeron Johnson has a hamstring, hurt that yesterday, he'll probably be about a week. Trevardo Williams has a hamstring, probably two weeks. [Chris] Culliver's got a groin. He's day to day. Akeem Davis had thumb surgery this morning, but we're hoping to get it casted up. He might be able to go tomorrow if he gets here on time. I think that's about it. And no, DeSean Jackson did not hit the sled. He landed on his shoulder, so sorry to squash that rumor. I'm sure nobody will write that, but the fact is he landed on his shoulder and then the momentum took him late into the sled but it did not cause any injury."

On if it is the same shoulder that wide receiver DeSean Jackson injured last year:

"I do not know that. This is his right shoulder and I don't remember what shoulder it was. He just landed on it, it's just a one-two week. Might be sooner depending on how he can tolerate the pain."

On if cornerback DeAngelo Hall's knee is a problem:

"No."

On if playing Brandon Scherff at right guard and Morgan Moses at right tackle is an experiment or a trend:

"Yeah, it could be. It could very well be. We're just going to go out here and give these guys reps, like Coach [Bill] Callahan said, 'Cross-train them,' and then let the exhibition games take care of themselves and we'll make our decisions for Miami. That's definitely a possibility with Morgan at right tackle and Brandon at right guard."

On quarterback Robert Griffin III's performance against the Texans today:

"He did OK. He did some good things. In 7-on-7, he made some good throws and in team period he missed a couple of throws there at the end which I'm sure he wished he had back. He sailed one to Jordan Reed and he threw one a little bit low to Ryan Grant, had a couple balls batted. But, overall, I think throughout the whole performance, I think he did OK – he did pretty good. There's some things to improve on obviously as we all have, but he's coming along."

On where Moses and Scherff are in their development together:

"Yeah, they're in day six or seven of training camp. That's where they're at, It's early. Morgan missed all of the OTAs, so he didn't get any reps over there. So, really this is the first chance they've had to work together and there's a lot that goes on with communication and technique that they have to get used to if that's the route we're going to go. So, they're coming along." 

On biggest difference in Moses this season:

"Well, last year, when he came from Virginia, he played right tackle I think it was his sophomore year and left tackle his junior and senior year then we tried to make the flip to right tackle and everything was kind of backwards to him. So, it took a little bit of time. He was much more comfortable on the left side, but having a year under his belt has helped him on the right side anyways. So, I think he feels a lot more comfortable. That's the biggest difference in him, just feeling more comfortable in his pass sets on the right side, his reach block on the right side, his combination blocks, his short sets, just all that stuff I think has come more natural to him on the right side than it did last year."

On the offensive line's performance today:
"I think there was some things to build off of, no question about it. Obviously, there are some things to correct. You're blocking the best player in pro football right now voted on by his peers, so he's going to make a few of his plays. Overall, there are some positives we can draw from today's practice and tomorrow's practice and Saturday's practices, I'm sure. J.J. [Watt] will win some of his battles, no doubt about it, but as long as we're learning from him, getting better, what a great way to introduce a young player than to have him go against J.J. Watt."

On Griffin adjusting to facing a new defense today:
"I think he adjusted fine. I think he saw things pretty well I think he… On 7-on-7 period, he got a little greedy down the middle of the field one time and was almost intercepted. Overall, he's going through his progressions and is seeing things a lot more clear. You know, just continue to coach off of the tape and we'll spend some time with him tonight and go through all these in great detail and go from there and then see how he progresses tomorrow against the same defense and Saturday. This is great work, man. It really is. It's one thing going against your defense day in and day out, but having another defense come in with new coverages and  new ways they play their linebackers and man techniques, it's great for the quarterbacks and everybody."

On what guard Spencer Long needs to do to compete for a position:
"Just come out and compete, like everybody else. Nothing is etched in stone. All these guys are out here playing. You might be on the first team or what have you, but really, you're going to have to earn your playing time, continue to work and get better. The great players that we see on tape will get their opportunities and we'll make the changes necessary. We talk about first team, second team, third team. Really it really doesn't mean anything right now. We're all just Redskins trying to get better, trying to figure out who the best players are. The players are going to have to earn that right every day."

On the defense:
"I was pleased. There are some things we can clean up from a communication standpoint but overall, I was pleased. Keenan [Robinson] got poked in the eye a little bit but he came back and practiced and did some good things and [Chris] Culliver, while he was out there was playing good in coverage, and [Dashon] Goldson had a nice interception, and Kyshoen [Jarrett] did some good things as a safety and a nickel. Obviously, Ryan Kerrigan had some good pass rushes so we had some flashes of looking really good on defense. The good thing is it was somebody different. They look pretty good as a cohesive unit for being the first time against a new team. And Houston did a great job of shifting and  motioning backs and getting in empty formation where the communication was vital and I think our first group that was out there did a pretty good job. Our second and third group, they need a little bit more work."

On if HBO's Hard Knocks was a distraction:

"No. I didn't even notice them today, to be honest with you. I don't think our players did either. If they did, it surprises me. There's bigger things on their plate right now that they have to deal with. They have to take advantage of the reps, they're trying to compete and they're trying to make a football team. They're not really worried about the cameras. They weren't a distraction to me and I don't think they were to the players."

On if he would consider hosting Hard Knocks in Washington:

"Oh, that's out of my control, thank goodness." [Laughter]

On the offensive line's opportunity against J.J. Watt and the Texans:

"Oh, it's great experience for them, really against all these guys. They have some good players over there on defense and offense obviously. It was a great experience. JJ's in a class of his own right now at the defensive end positon. He played three-technique obviously and it's great work. Really it's the relentless pursuit and effort that he plays with every time he's out there that really rubs off when you're talking about greatness. You see how he plays and the effort that he plays with on a consistent basis. It's really good for everybody to see."

* *

On if Josh LeRibeus will focus on guard or center:

"Well, right now he's working a lot at center. Like I said, we're talking about the cross training, but on game day we need a guy – if something happens to Kory [Litchtensteiger] – to walk in there and play center. Right now Josh is doing a good job for his first time. Like I said, the other day it's his first time where he's getting the majority of plays at center. Now he still played guard obviously, he played left guard and a little bit of right guard last year. The ability to play all three of those internal positions is crucial on game day."

On how defensive backs Justin Rogers and Kyshoen Jarrett matched up against the Texans' first team receivers:

"Justin's done a nice job. We mainly moved him into nickel but he had to play some corner out there today because of all the guys going down. We're trying to use him at the nickel position more often, and he's done a nice job of stepping up and taking advantage of the opportunities. Kyshoen [Jarrett] the same way. He was playing safety early in training camp. We moved him to nickel. He's taken some one-on-ones out there at corner. He's just continuing to compete every day and learn, and that's what we're asking these guys to do."

On how he balances a desire to practice certain things against giving them away:

"We're trying to practice things that could come up in a game, and those things could come up. There's other ways to run fake field goals, and offensively you tinker with that. Defensively, do you want to show your blitzes? But if you don't practice them, then come game day, you could blow something pretty crucial. I think it's important to practice them. We've got enough things in our playbook – offensive, defensive, and special teams – where we can branch off. But I think it's important to show a lot of the things that we're going to do on game day." 

On the reason for canceling tomorrow's walkthrough:

"Well, it's supposed to rain, number one. Number two, I thought we're going to have another great long practice tomorrow and I want to get these guys where they can rest a little bit, get some lunch, and we'll have a nice meeting to watch some practice film and just recover with their legs in the hotel room and get off their feet."

On if he'd rather practice with another team or play preseason games:

"I think both have merit. I like both of them, really. This setting right here you can control the situations that you want. Game day, you might not get as many third downs that you want or third-and-long or red zone situations. Here, we can control the situations – third-and-1, red zone, backed up, whatever it is, two-minute. On game day you can't control those. So I think there's merit to having both… Games are good because you see guys compete in game settings , obviously, but in practice  you can control the situations. You can have two-minute. In games there is no guarantee you're going to get a two-minute opportunity or a red zone opportunity, or third down and one or third down and 10, whatever. This way we can control the situations, also see some one-on-one stuff and individual work with the fundamentals. I think there is merit to both."

On Scherff possibly playing at guard and if the No. 5 overall pick is too high to select a guard:

"Not if he is really, really good, no. All you're looking for with the fifth pick or any pick, you want somebody that is going to help your football team be successful and we feel like Brandon will do that."

On comparing wide receiver Jamison Crowder to wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, with whom Gruden worked in Cincinnati:

"Well, that's a tough one. They're different. Andrew was a little bit smaller, but I don't know. It's so early to tell with Jamison. But Jamison, you're right. Jamison does seem like he's getting better and better every practice. He's got great quickness in-and-out of breaks and he's got a lot more straight-line speed than people gave him credit for coming out of the Combine. The one thing we haven't seen yet is when the pads get on, and it's live. We'll see. I don't know see any fear in his eyes whatsoever. He goes across the middle fearless. He knows how to run every route from outside and inside already. What a great job the Duke coaching staff did with their offense and coaching their wide receivers. He came in and it's been a really easy transition for him mentally and physically and obviously the hopes are very, very high for Jamison."

On Moses and kicker Kai Forbath's roles in a fake field goal:

"Morgan's got good hands. I'm thinking about moving Morgan to tight end too [laughs]. That's great. Kai, he missed a couple field goals yesterday, so he might learn to pass a little bit [laughter]. But, no, that's a good play."

Quarterback Robert Griffin III

On Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and the Texans' defense:

"He's a good player. I think we had a great day. I think the offense did a good job moving the ball. The last session there, I could've done a better job with two of those passes that I had, but I felt overall it was a great day. Great day for us. Great competition going out there going against different foreign bodies, foreign coverages we haven't seen and just being able to play and react."

On where he has improved the most:

"Knowing the offense. Second year in it, I feel like you can go out there and you kind of know what to do and I think that helps. You can play free and not be worrying about a thousand different things at one time going on in your head. I just feel more comfortable in the offense, comfortable with where I'm at and comfortable with the coaches. That's all you can ask for."

On deflected and tipped balls today in practice:

"I wish I could go through and describe to you how they blocked those balls, but I can't. I don't know. They did a good job, but our job is to make that not happen. There's no other way to say it. It happens, but we'll get better from it."

On wide receiver Jamison Crowder:

"He's had a really good camp. I think all of our guys have. It really sucked to see D-Jax [DeSean Jackson] go down there after the first one-on-one, but it gave the others guys an opportunity to step up and make plays and they did. You know, we have some depth at wide receiver and those guys are doing a great job. I'm really, really excited about that."

On how he has evolved in the pocket:

"Whatever they ask me to do, that's what I'm trying to do, so if they call drop-back plays I'm a drop-back QB. If they call on-the-move plays, then I'm an on-the-move QB. When things break down, I'll just be myself. I'm not really focused on that. I've just been focused on fundamentals and being consistent with everything every single day, coming out here trying to make sure that every day is a new day and playing everything honest."

On if he has improved in this area:

"Yeah, I mean that's what you want to do. You want to make sure you improve every single day. I think I had a great offseason with these guys for the months that we were together and then a good five weeks after that. It's been a perfect setup and I just want to keep growing."

On facing Watt and if it helps him:

"Yeah, I mean I don't want to see J.J. so I hope I don't see J.J. [laughter]. I think it's good for the linemen to go against one of the best D-linemen in the league, if not the best. I'll let you guys judge that. He got to me one time today pretty quick. It's good to see that he's had a great offseason, but from our standpoint, we're not really worried about that. Our guys, they look forward going up against him every day to kind of gauge what else it is that they need to work on, so I think that's a good test for them."

On reuniting with former Baylor teammate and current Texans long snapper Jon Weeks:

"[Laughs] You know, every Baylor Bear I see in the league, it puts a smile on the face. We stick together. We had a nice talk. Jay [Gruden] came over, I'm talking, smiling ear-to-ear. He's like, 'This guy must be a Baylor Bear.' They know every player from Baylor is the greatest player in the world in my opinion. That's just the way it is. It was good to see him."

On if the offense gets more out of joint practices or preseason games:

"In the preseason game, you kind of want to get in and get out. I think out here it's a full slate of plays, a full practice day, great competition. Guys get to go against guys. They don't know every release that they have. They don't know the concepts that we run. It breaks up that part of camp a little bit. Everyone gets turned up and gets excited about going against someone else."

On why he has not been posting on social media recently:

"I'm focused on football. I'm in camp. I know other guys are still posting on social media but, I mean, it's not a planned thing. I just — you want me to post pictures of watching tape? [Laughter] Isn't that what social media is? So, no, it's not planned thing or anything. I just haven't had time. I'm just focused on getting better every day, playing football. Then after camp's over, get a little more free time, maybe I can start posting again."

On the offense's performance in the two-minute drill on Monday:

"I just think everyone was where they needed to be, everyone doing their job. It's my job to facilitate the ball and get it to them. I thought we did a good job that day moving the ball down the field, keeping our composure. All it takes is one play to move your drive along and we did that with Niles [Paul] on a seam route. And then today in 'move the ball,' like I said, I thought we did a good job. I could've done a better job with the two passes that I missed there. I thought overall the day went well. The team in seven-on-seven periods and one-on-ones is great competition and it was great to get through all those reads against a different defense."

On which new players on the team have excited him most:

"All of them, man. They have all stepped up to the plate. They have really dived into the playbook and made sure they know what they are doing. I don't want to single out any one of them. I think all those guys are doing a great job."

On the lack of experience on the right side of the offensive line:

"I think Coach  is going to put the best five in front. So, whatever lineup that is, that's what they'll come up with. I trust those guys. I've trained with them, I know how they are as people and they are going to give it everything that they have. Whenever we start against the Dolphins, whatever five they have up there, that's who I believe in."

On how he thought the offense performed in goal line situations:

"Yeah, I thought we did good in the goal line situations. We had two runs and a pass with the first team and then, two passes and a run with the second team, so I thought that was good. The biggest thing down there is you're thinking touchdown, checkdown, so you're trying to make sure you're keeping the ball on your side, throwing it to your guys, and I thought we did a good job of that."

On having continuity along the offensive line: "It's important to know who's in front of you, but it's much more important for them to be on the same page and be able to communicate. My job is not to pick the five up front. It's to pick apart the defense. That's what I plan on doing. Like I said, Coach will put the best five up there. All those guys are working extremely hard so I trust all of them."