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Top 10 Quotes: Preparations For An AFC Contender

Chase Young and the Washington Football Team's defense prepares to run a play during practice on Sept. 23, 2021. (Karlee Sell/Washington Football Team)
Chase Young and the Washington Football Team's defense prepares to run a play during practice on Sept. 23, 2021. (Karlee Sell/Washington Football Team)

The Washington Football Team will travel for the first time this season to play the Buffalo Bills. Here are some of the top quotes from the week, presented by GEICO.

Taylor Heinicke on beating a team from the pocket:
"Yeah, I kind of go back and look at their defensive line. They're bigger guys that really just wanted to collapse the pocket. The biggest thing was just kind of staying in the pocket and getting the ball to those playmakers. That's what you want to do anyways. It was good for that to happen, get the ball in those guys' hands, let them do their thing. And as you can see if you look at the stat sheet, a lot of guys touch the ball. It was a good deal of getting the ball out to everybody."

Ron Rivera on Buffalo's rebuilding model:
"Not necessarily other than they didn't get the quarterback until the second year. To me, looking at what they've done, the way they've done it, they've been very methodical. They've had a plan, they stuck to the plan, they did the things that they've needed to do. They put players in place. You know, he doesn't have a lot of turnover on his coaching staff, stuff like that. I mean that's the thing that you look at and you appreciate is that the continuity that's there. And again, it's very similar to what we did when we all were together. And it started with Andy [Reid]. I mean, this all goes way back to 1999. cause we all. Sean [McDermott] and I and Leslie Frazier and guys that, on that staff, we all started with Andy. And so we all learned from him. And so a lot of the things that we do are very similar."

Scott Turner on what it says about Terry McLaurin that regardless of what keeps happening, he continues to produce:
"Terry's just always locked in. He's a serious guy and he plays hard, and he finds a way to get it done. You know sometimes the way he catches balls, not necessarily exactly how you would normally see someone just do it, but he gets it done and he doesn't take plays off. He has a good understanding of finding the open holes in the end zone and it's hard to stay with him when you play man-to-man. No matter who the quarterback is, when guys get open, the ball goes their way and we try to find a way as a coaching staff to get the ball in his hands. He continues to do that. He gets open. And then, the other thing that I was saying earlier, he produces after the catch."

Jack Del Rio on what challenges he sees with Buffalo:
"Yeah, I think it starts with the quarterback – big, strong athletic guy, able to extend plays, tremendous arm talent, arm strength, tough guy to bring down, big, strong guy. They've got really good skill people; the backs are good runners. We just feel like it's a good group that we're going against and we're going to need to play well."

Drew Terrell on the growth of WR Dyami Brown:
"Dyami has done a great job. He's an intelligent kid. Football makes sense to him and that's been very encouraging. Obviously, he's got a great skill set and he's got a great stride, a lot of speed. He does a good job catching the football away from his body and attacking it down the field and things like that. He'll just continue to grow. Obviously for young rookies, they got to learn how to be a pro first. So, taking care of their body is something that they've never thought about before. The foods to eat, what time I got to go to sleep at night when I got to be here early to get a lift or get in the cold tub. Those are things that he's got to continue to work on. He's coming along. He'll be fine. The process for him is just continued growth, steady improvement."

Ron Rivera on TE Logan Thomas improvement with the rest of the tight end corps:
"It'll take a lot of pressure off him, but for what we do, and the way we do it with the tight ends, obviously he fits perfectly in the role and we're working those out with the other guys. It will take a little bit of pressure off them because some of the dirty work he won't have to do as much. But right now he's doing a lot. I think [TE] Ricky [Seals-Jones] is starting to emerge in his own way and finding his way. And I think [TE] John [Bates], again, he's still growing as is [TE] Sammis [Reyes]. So they got a little bit of ways to go. It would be nice to have a third one that was ready already so you could roll him in a little bit more. But I think right now for Logan, it's just helping him to continue to develop as a receiving and blocking tight end."

Taylor Heinicke on how he blocks out the noise from the attention he has received since Thursday:
"My biggest thing is I don't want the success from last week to equal the non-success of this week, if that makes sense. Sometimes a lot of people get caught up in how they played the previous week, and it hurts them the next week. So, we had a long weekend, it was nice to enjoy it, but once Sunday and Monday came around, it was time for Buffalo. So again, the biggest thing is to keep doing it every week and that's the goal."

Ron Rivera on Heinicke adjusting to playing on the road:
"No, I don't expect an impact. I don't think it should be that big of a deal. Again, I think that I'd classify that under the interesting. To him, it's really about being on the field and playing on the field. He's played a lot of football in this past in terms of what he did collegiately and then some of his opportunities coming up. But yeah, this is his first real big shot, but like I said, that to me, that's interesting."

Scott Turner on problems Buffalo can present for the run game:
"They're defensive line, whether it's run or pass, they're very active. They got about eight guys that they'll roll through there, so they always are fresh and they're coming after you. Again, credit to Coach McDermott and those players, they play hard. They play hard from the first snap to the last, so you got to keep coming at them, because they're going to keep coming at you for sure. So I think that the activity, you know, if you block them, they don't stay blocked, they fight to get off blocks. So our guys got to do a great job of finishing, and those are the issues that you'll see, and they'll play some multiple looks and they'll stunt and pinch as well."

Jack Del Rio on CB Benjamin St-Juste:  
"I'm seeing growth with our guys. I think him specifically, I like the young man, I think he's done a great job coming in here and finding a role in this football team. So I just want him to continue to meet the challenges that he faces each week.

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