Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden talks with reporters on Friday. The Redskins (3-8) play the Indianapolis Colts (7-4) on Sunday.
On the injury report:
“E.J. Biggers, he did not participate. He’s going to be questionable. Jason Hatcher was limited. He’ll be questionable. Chris Baker was limited. He’ll be questionable. Ryan Clark was limited. He’ll be questionable and Silas Redd was limited. He’ll be questionable. Jordan Reed was full and he’s questionable. Trent Williams was full. He’s also questionable. And then two probables at full were Bashaud Breeland and Kedric Golston.”
On Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck:
“He’s obviously on pace to be one of the greats. If not, he is already being mentioned with one of the great ones already. There’s a reason for that. He’s very tough. He gets pressure, he gets hit early in games and that doesn’t faze him. He continues to drop back and look downfield. He’s very accurate with his deep passes, he has incredible touch and obviously he has the escape ability that makes him extra dangerous. He’s just a great player, great leader. Obviously, the players all love him and he’s been doing well.”
On if Luck’s ability to escape is the reason his sack totals remain low:
“Yeah, there’s a lot to it. The line is playing good for him, but he does a great job of avoiding the initial rush, stepping up and then obviously scrambling when he has to scramble. And, if he has to throw it away, he throws it away. He does a great job in the pocket. He has got great pocket skills.”
On the benefit of Luck coming from a pro-style offense at Stanford:
“Well, he obviously had great schooling coming from Stanford. He played with Coach [Jim] Harbaugh. He had the background. Obviously his dad’s a great quarterback. He was taught at a very young age, but a lot of that comes naturally. Some of thsse guys can come in here, avoid pressure, step up, avoid, keep their eyes downfield and still deliver accurate balls. That’s the one thing about him. He can throw accurate balls from a lot of different arm angles and body positions. He doesn’t always have to be on full balance to deliver strikes. He can hurt you throwing off one leg, off his back foot, scrambling to his right, scrambling to his left. He’s the total package as far as what you’re looking for as a quarterback.”
On balancing long-term and short-term goals with roster and lineup changes:
“You have to think about all that, but the fact of the matter is you just have to also look at what is more beneficial to you right now and who’s a better player at this time. That’s why we made the change [at quarterback]. Long-term is the long-term, but there’s also guys in this building we need to make decisions on long-term at the same position – Colt [McCoy] and Kirk [Cousins] also. All three of those guys, we’d like to think we have to make decisions on as far as a long-term project is concerned. So right now, it’s very important for us to play the best one and who we think is the best one that can help us win. Then, we’ll make those long-term decisions later on.”
On the probability cornerback E.J. Biggers will play Sunday:
“I would say he has a shot but it’s probably a long one at best.”
On who would replace Biggers at nickel:
“Yeah, we have some people moving in and out of there. We’ve got plenty of guys in there. We’ve got Trenton Robinson who has played some nickel. We can move people around. We’ve got [Greg] Ducre, who played obviously last week. We’ve got [Chase] Minnifield up this week, who can do it. So, we’ve got enough bodies in there to cover it.”
On the Colts’ defense:
“The Jekyll and Hyde of the NFL right now, because I’ve seen them play at a very high level against the Bengals, then they just gave up a few big plays [against Pittsburgh]. Big Ben [Roethlisberger] kept some plays alive and really dropped some incredible dimes. Antonio Brown had a great game. Some of these teams, they play a very aggressive style defense, and if the quarterbacks are on-point and they can throw some great touch balls, accurate balls, you have a chance to get some big plays on them. But, you have to get it off, No. 1. You have to be sound in your protection, and the receivers have got to do a great job beating some tight man coverage. Vontae Davis, [Greg] Toler, they do a good job of playing good, tight man-to-man coverage. They jostle, they get in your face and make the quarterback hold the ball. That’s where they get their pressure like they did against Cincinnati.”
On how to get running back Alfred Morris going without Robert Griffin III on Sunday:
“Same thing. I don’t know if it had to do with Robert, I don’t know. I just think everybody together has been working better in unison on all our runs, not just the zone reads but all our runs. That comes with some time, and Alfred is doing a great job of being more patient, and when he makes a move, he’s very decisive and gets north quickly. I think also our games were close the last couple of games so we were able to stick with the run a little longer through the third, fourth quarter as opposed from being down 10 – you feel like you’ve got to hurry up and catch up. That had a lot to do with it too. Both games – Minnesota and obviously San Fran – were very close.”
On Indianapolis safety LaRon Landry:
“LaRon’s a proven NFL player. He’s a very physical guy. He’s good when they bring him in the box and stop the run and all that stuff, but he’s also pretty adequate in pass coverage. So, he’s one of those safeties, the veteran-type safety that knows the game, who knows the system, and does a nice job for them.”
On what quarterback Colt McCoy will need to do to be successful Sunday:
“He’s got to keep his poise No.1. He’s going to be excited. Early in the Dallas game, Monday Night Football, the first couple drives, he was a little shaky. [His] heart was beating a little too fast. You’ve just got to calm down, play with great poise and play within himself in the system, and I think good things will happen. But, there’s going to come times where he’s going to have to make some plays with his legs – scramble, move around in the pocket or drop some serious dimes, because like I said the tight man-to-man coverage will be an issue if we don’t get off. So he’s going to have to do a good job being accurate, but also moving around in the pocket. The big thing for him is just to stay poised, have a belief in the system and the players around them, and let them do the work for him.”
On if there will be more changes to the lineup on offense:
“he big one is hopefully we get Trent [Williams] back at left tackle and then Jordan Reed at tight end. Those things will hopefully happen but as far as the offensive line and wide receivers, I think it was very hard to evaluate the receivers with the pressure and everything else involved. But, I think with the exception of Trent and Jordan Reed, I’ll think offensively we’ll be able to stay the same.”
On who will serve as the punt returner:
“Andre [Roberts]. Andre is our punt returner. Santana [Moss] will back him up. If we need to take a shot, we’ll take a shot with DeSean [Jackson].”