Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden
Conference Call, November 21, 2017
Q: What is this week like given all the injuries you’ve had?
A: Yeah, it’s quite the challenge. We just had our first walk through here today and trying to figure out who’s playing and who’s not playing and getting the guys who are playing ready to go, and then you pop on the film and from an offensive perspective, we look at Coach (Steve) Spagnuolo’s defense, and it’s going to be quite the challenge to get our guys ready for all the things that they do and then obviously getting our defense ready for Coach (Ben) McAdoo and Eli Manning will be quite the challenge.
Q: Are you even going to practice this week or is everything going to be a walk through?
A: Yeah, we’re only going to do walk-throughs this week. We’re pretty dinged up and we don’t have really enough guys to get 11 on 11 right now for look squad. Most of our look squad guys are going to be playing, so we just got to get them ready to go and walk through will slow it down and talk about some things and maybe I’ll do a little bit of running tomorrow. We’ll wait to see how we are.
Q: Are you at the point in the season where it’s kind of win or else?
A: Win or else? Isn’t is always at that point in the season? I mean, it’s never any different in the NFL, especially in the D.C. market. You got to win. But now, with the record with what it is, if we want to advance and try to get in the playoffs, even if we win out, there’s no guarantee. But, obviously, we have to win this one first and that’s all that matters. We’ll worry about the next one next week.
Q: You had two close games with the Giants last season. When you look at the film, what’s the biggest difference in this year’s Giants team compared to last year’s?
A: I think Odell Beckham. Without Odell Beckham, it’s a huge difference. He’s the best receiver in the league. And then, you know, I think both teams have had a little bit of their share of injuries and we’re trying to deal with it, but from a defensive perspective, you see what they did to the Kansas City Chiefs last week and they still have the usual suspects. They’ve had guys in and out of the lineup, but when they’re healthy and they got (Jason) Pierre-Paul and (Damon) Harrison and Olivier Vernon and the linebackers – (Devon) Kennard and obviously the safety Landon Collins and Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins and the Redskin killer, (Dominique) Rodgers-Cromartie. He got the two picks last year, last game of the year. I mean, they are a very good defense to go along with Coach Spagnuolo’s scheme. Very disruptive. Very tough to deal with. So, they haven’t changed that much. Offensively, I’d say they’ve probably struggled just a little bit with all the new receivers they’ve had, but they can still run the ball and Eli is still Eli.
Q: With the Giants without their top two wide receivers in Beckham and Brandon Marshall, how does that change how you use cornerback Josh Norman?
A: Yeah, it won’t change at all. We feel good about our corners right now. We haven’t played well the last couple of weeks, as far as giving up points and the passing yards of [New Orleans quarterback] Drew Brees and obviously in the two-minute drill we gave up about 180 yards in two minutes. So, the last couple of weeks we’ve struggled a little bit through the air, but we’ve got to get our pass rush going a little bit better and our secondary play has got to play better. But we feel good about where [cornerback Bashaud] Breeland is lined up, where [cornerback] Kendall Fuller is lined up inside, and obviously Josh Norman, where he is and if we need to change it up, we will.
Q: What does it mean to be playing on Thanksgiving?
A: It’s going to be, I think, a lot more meaningful come Thursday night. Right now, our heads are spinning right now. We’re trying to get ready to play a football game, we’re trying to find out who the healthy bodies are, make sure we’ve got 46 guys to strap it up and the 46 guys that are going to strap it up, we’ve got to get them ready to go. So, I think on Thanksgiving it’ll be a special evening and when the Giants come to town, you see their blue helmets and it’s quite the rivalry. We understand what it’s all about, Giants vs. Redskins, it’ll have special meaning, but being on Thanksgiving with everybody watching, I think it’ll be a great treat for everybody involved.
