Head Coach Jay Gruden
Opening statement:
"DeAngelo Hall, toe, did not participate, out. Jason Hatcher was full, he's probable. Jordan Reed did not participate, he is out. [Bashaud] Breeland was full, he's probable. Chris Culliver did not participate, he's out. DeSean Jackson was limited, he's questionable. Matt Jones did not participate, he's questionable. Kory Lichtensteiger did not participate, he is out. Stephen Paea was limited, he's questionable. Trent Williams did not participate, he's out. Pierre Garçon was full. Spencer Long, Perry Riley, Chris Thompson, Josh LeRibeus were all full, they're probable. Limited was Andre Roberts, he's questionable."
On what happened with T Trent Williams as the week progressed:
"After the game, we checked him for a lot of things. He was feeling OK, but then he started to develop some concussion-like symptoms and put him in the protocol and he's out because of that."
On if Williams is currently in the concussion protocol:
"Yes."
On if Williams is at the stage where he can be in meetings but can't practice:
"Correct."
On the challenge of not having Williams and C Kory Lichtensteiger on Sunday:
"It's a great challenge, you know? I told them today, 'We've got a heck of a team not playing but we have got a heck of a team playing.' It's a great opportunity for Ty [Nsekhe] to play some left tackle. It's a great opportunity for Josh LeRibeus to play center. We have confidence that they'll get the job done. That's the way we're going to go about our business. Nothing is going to change. Business as usual. We have a job to do and we've got to do it with the able bodies that we have playing."
On if RB Matt Jones had a setback:
"He just hasn't got better, really. It's not so much a setback. He's been sore and we were hoping that it would progress a little bit better during the week than it has, so he's questionable. We'll see. We'll take him on the trip, see how he does on Saturday at the hotel and see if anything happens."
On QB Kirk Cousins not having several offensive weapons available:
"It'll be a challenge, no doubt. We still have -- like I said yesterday – we still have some able bodies. I think Jamison Crowder is doing an excellent job. We still have Pierre [Garçon], one of the top receivers around. Ryan Grant's going to have to continue to step up. [Rashad] Ross, like you mentioned yesterday and Derek Carrier, those guys are going to have to play. Still, Chris Thompson is a good matchup for us against linebackers. We'll go from there and we'll have to mix it up. We'll have to keep them off-balance with the running game and the passing game and the play-actions and quick game and do some screens and try to keep them off-balance the best way we can."
On when Williams started in the concussion protocol:
"I would say we practiced him I believe it was Wednesday, he did individual, just individual. We had him as limited. Then, after that practice, he just developed some – a few headaches and things of that nature so we wanted to play it safe with him and got him tested and that's where he is right now."
On if it is Williams' first concussion of his career:
"I don't know for sure. I think it's the first one with the Redskins."
On who was No. 15 at practice:
"[Colin] Lockett, practice squad."
On if there is any concern that the injuries to Lichtensteiger or CB Chris Culliver will extend beyond this Sunday:
"Yes, there is. You know, when you're not playing in a game, hopefully they miraculously get better in five or six or seven days is probably wishful thinking, but we'll see. You know, I think Kory is realistic probably for the bye week, after the bye week. But who knows, maybe he'll get some strength back in that left side and we'll go from there. And Chris, I think it's just a matter of him getting the proper treatment and seeing how he does on a daily basis. That's all we can go by."
On if WR DeSean Jackson finished practice today:
"He went through individual and we put him with trainer and the strength guy Chad [Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Chad Englehart] and he did some work out there with him. He said he felt OK, but we'll see."
On if Jackson will be a game-time decision:
"Yeah, he'll be game-time."
On how frustrating it is to deal with this many injuries:
"Yeah, I can't imagine having any more. You know, I don't know. It's tough to deal with. It is frustrating, but it's pro football and these things happen at certain times. It's unfortunate they're all happening in bulk. These guys all want to play. They're all very competitive players, I know that. Nobody's quitting on anybody. They're all as disappointed as we are. They're fluke injuries too. They're not like we're training them too hard. We've got a concussion. We've got a neck thing. We've got a hand. We've got a shoulder. We've got a calf. We've got a quad. We've got just a little bit of everything. These guys are working hard, playing hard and want to play, but unfortunately these guys can't go and the ones that can go are going to have to play, play a lot and play well."
On if he anticipates making roster moves before Sunday:
"No, we don't have any room."
Offensive Coordinator Sean McVay
On preparing reserve players to start on the offensive line:
"It's going to a great challenge for us. It's been a great week of preparation though. Coach [Bill] Callahan does anexcellent job getting those guys ready to go and putting them through all the looks that we expect to see. We know Coach [Todd] Bowles and his staff does an excellent job presenting a variety of looks with excellent players and personnel. So, it's going to be a big day for a lot of guys getting an opportunity to step up and fill in for some big time veterans that are core players for us."
On C Josh LeRibeus' growth since joining the team in 2012:
"I think he's a more mature player. Anytime you're able get more experience, you gain that confidence. I think he does feel comfortable communicating the calls and different things that need to go on at the line of scrimmage with what he's responsible for. We've put a lot on those centers' shoulders and Kory [Lichtensteiger] has done an excellent job holding up the standard that we set that for that position at center and we're expecting Josh to fill in and do a nice job on Sunday."
On if LeRibeus will be constantly quizzed leading up to the game:
"Yeah, definitely. That's one of those things Coach Callahan throughout the course of the week, he's always challenging his guys, always quizzing them in the meeting rooms, making sure he's putting them in situations on the practice field. You guys see there's not a single wasted minute on the practice field during special teams periods as well. So, he's really been grinding on Josh hard this week and I think he's done a nice job with the looks that we presented. We know as with anything that Coach [Todd] Bowles will have a couple looks that we haven't seen on tape and hopefully our rules will hold up and he [LeRibeus] will be confident in being able to handle those."
On leaving Brandon Scherff at right guard and starting Ty Nsekhe at left tackle:
"I think you want to try to keep as much continuity as you can as possible. Brandon I think has done a nice job settling in at that right guard spot and he and Morg [Morgan Moses] are continuing to develop a rapport together. Then you throw in Josh [LeRibeus] inside in the mix. You want to try to keep some continuity, losing two key veterans players. Ty is a guy that's had the ability to play both right and left tackle for us. Kind of a guy that didn't know what to expect coming into camp and I think you've seen him slowly and steadily progress as he's gotten more and more experience. He's a big guy, he's strong, he's got some length, so it'll be exciting for him. We know it's going to be an excellent and great challenge against a very, very tough defense, but I think he's excited about the opportunity he's got on Sunday."
On if having this many injured players creates a challenge for calling plays:
"Sure, it does. Anytime you some of your valuable weapons that are dynamic playmakers in the pass game, you've always got to adjust. I think that's what you see good coaches do is you adjust and you figure out ways to try to put your players in the best positions that you can to help those guys succeed on Sundays. That's what we've tried to do as a staff this week as we formulated our game plan and hopefully it goes well when we play."
On what WR DeSean Jackson's presence would mean for the offense:
"He's a special talent. Any time that you have a guy like him that's able to create big plays down the field… And it's unfortunate that he hasn't been able to play because I think he's done a nice job with his underneath and intermediate routes too when he's been able to practice and where you kind of have seen a little bit more route versatility with him. He's a guy that definitely changes the way teams defend you because of his ability to get down the field, and we'll be excited if we're able to have him go. And we've got some plans in place for that, and if not, we'll be ready to adjust accordingly."
On if there is value to having Jackson on the field even if he is not 100 percent:
"Certainly. I think a guy like that that draws that type of attention, you obviously always want him to be 100 percent, but I definitely think just his presence out there alone has defensive guys pay a little bit more attention because of the things he's been able to do over the course of his career with regards to those big plays."
On if Jackson's presence despite being injured could be similar to Julio Jones' last week:
"Yeah, that's exactly right. Those special players dictate a different way that you have to approach your game plan from a defensive standpoint. It's the same way with us offensively. When you go against a dynamic pass rusher, a special corner, you know you want to try to do a good job of regulating what their impact on the game will be and how you adjust — whether it's double-teaming guys, staying away from certain guys. It's the same thing when you have special players offensively I would imagine for defensive coaches."
On if not having RB Matt Jones will limit what the team can do Sunday:
"I wouldn't say it going to limit what we can do. I think, more along the lines of with our three backs that we have, you kind of want to try to settle in and have them find what their role is with how they fit based on what we're doing within that game plan. We feel like Alfred [Morris] and Matt are both very good runners on first and second down. Obviously, the dynamic that Chris [Thompson] presents out of the backfield as a pass-catching back and some of the things he can do in those obvious passing situations, third downs, he's been a very valuable asset. But if Matt's able to go, we'll be excited to have him. If not, then we're confident in Alfred's ability to carry the load like he's shown he can do over the course of his career."
On if Jets CB Darrelle Revis factors into the offensive game plan:
"It definitely does. He's a special player. You can see why he gets the notoriety that he does. He's excellent in off-man. He can play. He can come up on the line of scrimmage. He's played with some guys in the slot this year. You can see, depending upon how they look at your personnel, he may travel with certain guys and may not. I think he's as good as there is in the league. Really, I think Buster Skrine, [Antonio] Cromartie — they have excellent DBs all over the field. They're excellent up front. They have no weaknesses on this defense. You can see why they are arguably one of the best, if not the best, in the league."
On the offense's performance against Atlanta:
"It was tough, you know? I thought Atlanta did a nice job of loading the box and credit to them, they did a good job stopping us on the run. Then, anytime that you have a game like that where you feel like you're able to get some momentum at the end, start getting some things going — I think, before that last play, Kirk [Cousins] had completed about 10 in a row. We felt like we really moving on that last drive and it's very disappointing. Unfortunately, those guys made a play and we didn't. As a guy that's responsible for, you know, some of those plays and things like that, you always question. I wish we would have put him in a better situation to have some success. That's something where as a coach — just like we expect our players to, I'll learn from some of the mistakes that I made in that game. You try to critically evaluate yourself so that when some of the situations that did come up within the framework of the game or even in crunch time, you're able to handle them better moving forward and put your players in good positions where you feel like it's conducive for them having success."
