Here’s what Redskins coach Jay Gruden had to say Wednesday:
On TE Jordan Reed:
“He did good. He did everything today. We’re easing him into the lineup. He did some good things in the passing game, we put him in the running game a little bit – did good. He looks well.”
On if any other injured players returned:
“Junior Galette came back. That was the only other one.”
On the run game:
“You know, I’ve said this before, when the run game doesn’t work, it’s not one guy. Sometimes it’s tight end, sometimes it’s a tackle, sometimes it’s a back, sometimes it’s the center. So, we’ve just got to get everybody on the same page. You’ve got to be in unison. All six, seven, eight, nine, 10 guys have got to be in unison and we just haven’t been right when the ones are in there. Rob Kelley hasn’t gotten many good looks. Other guys came in there, we got [Samaje] Perine some good looks and he had some good hits. We’ve just got to keep at it. It’s all about practice and working at it and getting better.”
On if there’s a chance Reed might play Sunday:
“Yeah.”
On how important it would be for Reed to play again before Week 1:
“Well, it’s important. It’s not critical, but it’s important. I’d like to get him back out there and get in the running game a little bit, get involved and obviously catch a couple passes. But, if he’s not feeling up to it at that time on Sunday afternoon, then so be it. I think Jordan’s the type of guy that has missed time before and come back and not missed a beat. He’s just one of those freakish guys that has the luxury of doing that. Not many other people can do that. Still, you’d still like a player to get some involvement in a game before you play a real one.”
On C Chase Roullier:
“He took [reps with the] ones today and did a good job. Ronald Patrick’s getting more work also, so we have two centers. Probably would like to get another one eventually depending on how long Spencer [Long] is going to be out, but we’re hopeful that he’ll return Week 1. But, we’ll see.”
On how he would describe what LB Junior Galette was able to do at practice today:
“I would say he went, he did some team exercises. He did all the individuals. He did some team stuff, not a lot, but he just wanted to get in there and get his feet wet and see how he felt. He felt pretty good.”
On his confidence when Reed is on the field:
“Yeah, he is a critical part of our offense. We know that, so it is a comfort level when he’s in there.
There’s a lot of things that he can do that not many people can do at the tight end position. It’s all on tape. So, it’s good to have him back, but guys have done very well in his absence out here at practice – Niles Paul and Vernon [Davis]. Derek Carrier’s done a nice job. Manessah [Garner] has done a nice job. E.J Bibbs has done some good things, so they’ve covered the slack for him but Jordan’s a special guy.”
On if RB Samaje Perine’s success can be attributed to the looks he got or what he created for himself:
“A little bit of both, it’s a combination of both. He ran through some tackles. He got hit one time behind the line and still managed to get six or seven yards and that’s what it’s all about. Our backs understand that we’re not going to get them all blocked; it’s your responsibility to run through a tackle or two. Rob on the other hand has gotten bamboozled by two or three guys sometimes, so we’ve just got to do a better job. Baltimore has a really, really good strong front. Early in the game we only got him two touches in that game, and then obviously last week against Green Bay we tried a couple different types of runs and didn’t get them blocked – targeted – correctly and didn’t have a lot of good running lanes. We’re going to stick with it though. I feel good about our run plan each week and this week poses a different threat. They’re a 4-3 team with Geno Atkins and Vontaze Burfict, Pat Sims, a very good defensive front, and [Carlos] Dunlap and Michael Johnson so it will be another good test for us.”
On if it is “silly” for people to get excited about Perine after last week:
“No, I mean you guys can get excited or down or whatever you guys want to do [laughter]. I mean, obviously it’s doom and gloom if we lose and we’re going to go undefeated if we win. So I think we’re all very excited about the prospect of him being a running back here. But I’m still excited about Rob [Kelley]. He hasn’t had many good looks. Perine and Chris Thompson have done some good things – Mack Brown. Matt Jones. So, we’ll just keep rotating them through there and see who the best ones are.”
On C Spencer Long:
“You know what, he has been hobbling a little bit. It has been bothering him. He’s been trying to fight through it. He does not like to miss a rep. He’s a very competitive guy and unfortunately you could see it starting to bother him. After the game, he tried to fight through the whole first half against Green Bay and he just said he couldn’t really go. We wanted to get it checked out and found out he had some meniscus issues and got it fixed up.”
On DL Terrell McClain’s role:
“I think he’s a major part of our rotation, really. I think all those defensive lineman – [Stacy] McGee, McClain, [Jonathan] Allen, [Matt] Ioannidis, Ziggy Hood – they all can rotate in there. [Anthony] Lanier II, A.J. Francis, [Joey] Mbu’s done some good things, so we’ve just got to figure out the right five or six guys that are going to be ready for Philadelphia. We’re moving them all along the defensive line. I think they can all play multiple spots. Love what Terrell’s doing – he’s active. He’s coming from a different style of defense, more of a gap-penetrating defense in Dallas. Now, he’s trying to play different styles here and Coach [Jim] Tomsula is doing a good job working with him. I think he’s got great energy, plays with good pad level, and he’s going to be a good player for us.”
On LB Ryan Anderson:
“He’s just got a stinger. He’s been limited. He doesn’t have full strength yet.”
On how he evaluates the preseason games when the win/loss result doesn’t matter as much:
“I think we have prepared these guys to play a game, it’s just you don’t get the entire week of practice like you would normally. Usually we only do one day or two days in getting ready for a team and less carded periods. That’s still no excuse. We should perform better than we have in the first two games, offensively especially. We still are very critical about our scheme, about the techniques we’re using and about the run concepts we’re calling. We’ve just got to get better at it and continue to coach them. We’ve done some good things out here, but it has to transform and carry over to the games and it hasn’t done that yet. But, that doesn’t mean we have to give up on it. It’s tempting when you get Jordan Reed back out there and [Jamison] Crowder and [Josh] Doctson and [Terrelle] Pryor and all those guys, and obviously Chris Thompson because we’ve got a lot of weapons to throw the ball, but in order for us to be effective we have to be balanced in my opinion and we’ve got to get the run game going.”
On the performance of LBs Mason Foster and Zach Brown last week:
“They did good. They did good. I feel really good about our linebacking corps. I think [Martrell] Spaight comes in there and does a good job. Obviously Will Compton is a great leader, a great communicator, does some great things. Josh Harvey-Clemons has done some good things at middle linebacker. Honestly, any pairing there I feel pretty good about right now. [Nico] Marley obviously has been running around like a bat out of hell, so those guys are playing well. Kirk Olivadotti has done a nice job coaching them up and I like the combinations we’re going with right now. Now we just have to see how they play against Cincinnati. It’ll be a great attack with Joe Mixon and obviously Jeremy Hill and Tyler Eifert and A.J. [Green] and [John] Ross and all those guys. It’ll be a great test for our defense to see how they communicate with all the formations and all the different looks we’re going to get.”
On the plan for WR Josh Doctson:
“We’ll see. I think Josh was just coming back from his hamstring, we weren’t sure how much he was going to play. We eased him back in the lineup a little bit and made a couple catches there. We’ll wait and see. Again, it’s kind of like middle linebacker. Whoever is out there, I feel good about. They can win. [Jamison] Crowder, if we line up in two tight ends and two receivers, it could be Crowder, it could be Doctson, it could be Crowder, it could be [Terrelle] Pryor, it could be [Ryan] Grant. All those guys – [Maurice] Harris is doing well, [Brian] Quick is doing well. We just have to… When it comes right down to it, we’ll narrow it down and play the guys that we want.”
On the pros and cons of playing Galette as compared to Reed:
“The same. I think, Junior, I would like to get him some action before he plays because he hasn’t played in a couple years. Jordan has been playing. So, I would like to get him out there, but I also don’t want to jeopardize his hamstring and have him re-injure it. There is a fine line there. We will have to wait and see how he does.”
On WR Brian Quick:
“Brian Quick has been impressive. He is a big, physical guy. When he gets going, he has got some great long speed and he is a physical guy. I have been impressed with Brian. So, you just add another one to the mix, keep those guys fresh and rotated. I am happy about that.”
On what pleased him most about Perine last week:
“I think the way he bounced back, really. He struggled. He had the fumble and he had a dropped pass. He didn’t do too well in the first game. He didn’t have great opportunities, and when he did, nothing really happened. So, to see him bounce back and compete was most impressive.”
On his coaching style and trying to get into the defense’s heads in individual drills today:
“Well, the defense is doing well, so we had to challenge them a little bit. We had to challenge our offense. When the offense did well, I had to challenge the defense. It just depends on the day, the moment, the mood.”
On if it has gotten “more heated” for him:
“The big thing is you always want them to compete at their highest level. If somebody is doing well or if somebody is not, you have to challenge them. It’s all about competition, really. That’s what it is all about. I want to see their best on every single rep.”
On the physicality of the game against Cincinnati last season and if he addressed it with his team:
“You know what? I haven’t even brought up the London game yet. I think that is long forgotten. I know all those guys in Cincinnati. There is nothing dirty about that team. I know that they are a good football team, very competitive. Marvin [Lewis] coaches them well. Paul Guenther is a great defensive coordinator. [Ken] Zampese is a good offensive coordinator. They have good weapons on both sides of the ball. All we are worried about is doing what we do and controlling what we can control and that’s it.”
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