Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden speaks with reporters on Friday. Washington (3-5) plays at Minnesota (3-5) on Sunday in NFL action.
On the injury report:
“We had a little tweak at the end of practice there. Bashaud Breeland hurt his knee, he’s going to be questionable. But Ryan Clark is probable – everybody else is probable, other than Breeland, he is questionable. As for the quarterback, Robert [Griffin III] got the majority of the ones today and we have every intention of giving him the start.”
On cornerback Bashaud Breeland’s injury:
“Well, we’ve got to find out. He just did it at the tail end of practice. It doesn’t look like it is serious but we have to just make sure we take all the precautions necessary and hopefully he will be OK. We will have to make that determination once we find out from the doctors. We have [Tracy] Porter, we have [Chase] Minnifield, we have other guys, but obviously we want Breeland.”
On how the injury occurred:
“He just got his foot twisted in the ground, really awkward. Non-contact, it was just one of those things.”
On if Breeland’s knee will be tested:
“Yeah, we are going to get it checked out here after practice so I don’t think it’s going to be serious but we are just making sure.”
On cornerback Tracy Porter’s availability:
“Yes, he is fully available. Yes, he is healthy.”
On cornerback DeAngelo Hall:
“Yeah, I guess he had a late night getting some pizza or something in his kitchen and slipped and re-tore it. So he has got to go back in and get it fixed. That just is going to delay his rehab obviously and unfortunately, but hopefully we will still be able to get him back by the start of the season next year. It might, obviously, impede his progress as far as OTAs and maybe training camp and all that. But we will get the timetable after the surgery and have a better idea. Just a fluke thing.”
On if he knows when the next surgery will happen:
“No, I don’t.”
On what progression he has seen from quarterback Robert Griffin III since Wednseday:
“I think just the command of the game. He has done a good job. He has gone out there and thrown and done all the drills the right way. Missed a couple throws Wednesday but he made some great throws, made some good throws today. Each day we concentrate on different areas and different situations of the game, today was red zone, short yardage, goal line, so it was kind of a different period. We had a couple team drills, which he did good in. So, I think everything is checking out good. You know, last week was like a bonus week for him. He was pretty healthy last week and gave him an extra week to recover and this week I think he is good to go.”
On how much he has referenced last year’s game against Minnesota:
“None. I haven’t even watched that game. They have a different coach, we have a different coach. Just one of those games that go into the archives that nobody will probably ever watch again.”
On if Griffin III will have any designed runs early:
“Do you want me to just dial up my whole game plan for you guys? We plan on calling a game like we would if – we are going to have different style of plays for Robert. So, the game plan is what it will be. Everybody will just have to wait until Sunday to see the exciting game plan of the Washington Redskins with Robert Griffin III.”
On Griffin III translating what happens in practice to an actual game:
“Yeah, you just have to let him play through that. There have been a million players that have looked very good out on the practice field that haven’t really translated to the game field. But luckily for us Robert won a Heisman Trophy at Baylor, so we know he was a gamer in college and he was Rookie of the Year here his first year here, so we know he can play in games here. And then his second year, whatever happened, happened, but we have a pretty good indication that he is a very talented guy, obviously, from what he has accomplished in his career and we are just hoping to get him back to the from sooner than later. So will he make mistakes? Of course he will, everybody will. His will be magnified obviously because he is the quarterback but that won’t stop us from coaching him up and trying to get him to do right. The more he sees with the concepts that we are doing, with the drop backs, with the pressure and how he handles pressure in situations, the better he will get. That is why it is important for him to play, as soon as he is healthy. We feel like he is 100 percent healthy. We’ve got to get him ready and get him learning the position.”
On Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater:
“He is similar to a lot of young quarterbacks. They are going through what quarterbacks are going through. People have a tendency to think that ‘OK, he is a first round draft pick, he’s got all this talent’ that it’s going to all of a sudden translated him into being Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees or something like that. It takes a lot of time for these guys to 1) play and understand the speed and tempo of the game and then understand all the different coverages, blitzes and fronts that defenses do and get to know their receivers and the new coaches’ system. So it is a very long process that Coach [Norv] Turner I’m sure is going through and Teddy is going through, but he has the talent to be a great quarterback, you can see that. He can make all the throws and he has got good movement in the pocket. But like I said, it takes time to get used to the system, receivers and the defenses of the NFL.”
On if there was an argument to be made for waiting until the Tampa Bay game for Griffin III to return:
“No. We waited a week. Dallas, he was champing at the bit to play. He felt like he was ready, healthy. We waited a week to get him ready. So, he’s had his time. He’s got his rehab. He’s going to play good defenses every week so for anybody to say Minnesota’s defense is better than Tampa Bay’s defense – they’ve got [Gerald] McCoy, they have got a good defense also. Minnesota’s got good players. There’s not a defensive team in the National Football League that’s going to take it easy on him, I promise you that. Everybody’s going to give him different challenges and he’s going to have to rise to the occasion – this week, next week, the week after. So, he’s got to be ready for everybody. But, there’s no easy team on our schedule that I have seen.”
On if Griffin III is synchronized with his receivers:
“Yeah, it’s close. We’ll see on game day when things speed up considerably. It’s easy in seven-on-seven and team drills, but we’ll see on game day. But, I feel good about [it]. Robert’s gone through these concepts during training camp and OTAs and all that stuff. We might have changed them up a little bit formationally or split-wise or what have you. I think he’s going to be fine, you know? Will he show some rust? Will he be perfect? No, but I think, like I said before, I think Robert at 100 percent gives us the best chance to win at the positionSunday.”
On if Griffin III had a better practice today than yesterday:
“Yeah, he did better today than he did yesterday. “