Jay Gruden talked to reporters after today's 38-14 loss to the Falcons. He talked about the Redskins injuries, the lack of running game, and the questionable penalties.
LIVE: Jay Gruden at the podium after Washington's loss to Atlanta https://t.co/L1dyQWbXaJ
— NBC Sports Redskins (@NBCSRedskins) November 4, 2018
Injury updates:
On injuries: Scherff (shoulder) and Lauvao (knee) both will undergo MRIs Monday.
— John Keim (@john_keim) November 4, 2018
Scherff and Lauvao will both undergo MRIs on Monday. Morgan, Dunbar and Reed also hurt.
— Rick Snider (@Snide_Remarks) November 4, 2018
Running game:
Jay Gruden says he has to watch the tape before figuring out the running game. He is clearly perplexed. He also mentions two major penalties in the first half.
— Craig Hoffman (@CraigHoffman) November 4, 2018
Playing from behind:
”Don’t get behind. We just have to dig down deep. We had a chance. We cut it to a couple score lead. I think it was 28-14 and [they] came right down and they scored again to make it a 21-point game. A lot has to happen right for you to come back from three scores in the NFL. You have to have great protection. You have to have great defense. You have to get off the field. You have to stay on the field. We had a chance with the ball and then had another critical penalty. I believe two, three, four penalties, I believe on one drive, which hurt us on that drive for a chance to come back."
Penalties:
Gruden says he has to check the tape on the penalties. “If they’re legit, we need to get it corrected.”
— Craig Hoffman (@CraigHoffman) November 4, 2018
He clearly does not think many of them were legit.
Gruden was upset by all the penalties. Said he wants to check tape. Said they called some “token penalties” on the Falcons late.
— John Keim (@john_keim) November 4, 2018
Gruden only spoke for 3:25, but there was a couple candid moments. On penalties, he admitted it was "impossible to win" with so many. "Might as well give them the ball and give them the game."
— Rick Snider (@Snide_Remarks) November 4, 2018
Matt Ioannidis OG:
Matt Ioannidis would have been the next guard.
— John Keim (@john_keim) November 4, 2018
”That’s panic time. Matt Ioannidis would have played guard. Losing two starting guards is hard. You dress a backup tackle. I think we had to move Ty [Nsekhe] in there at guard. Not good. We’ve been there before. Love to have some guys to step up who are practicing with us and get them ready to go.”
How the Atlanta Falcons were scoring so quickly:
”It did surprise me. Really the way they were scoring, they had a bunch of third down conversions in the first half. Which we’ve been really good on third down all year and today, for whatever reason, we weren’t very good. They scored on two screen passes for long touchdown runs. One at the end and one early in the game to [Tevin] Coleman. The third down conversions, really what kept them in the game. They ran the ball effectively but for us to get a team like Atlanta, we have to get a team like them off the field on third down and we didn’t do it."
Alex Smith Presser
WATCH LIVE: QB Alex Smith speaks with the media following the #ATLvsWAS game. https://t.co/tHm1DrXYWu
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) November 4, 2018
Struggling early in the game:
“Early for us, I think too many negative plays, too many penalties. They’re tough to overcome. I think that many of them, I don’t know how many of the first several drives had negative play that put us behind schedule, put us into a third-and-long and those are tough to convert on playing in this league. They’re tough to overcome.”
Maurice Harris:
“He’s a guy that I think everyone on offense has a lot of confidence in, certainly I do. He’s a guy that can move around and we can put in a lot of positions and he can do a lot. We ask a lot of him, but obviously getting to play inside here with Jamison [Crowder] out he’s done a heck of a job. I think he’s a young player, I think he’s got a bright future, but I thought today making some big, big plays, playing fast. It was good to see.”
Calming the team down after penalties:
“I know it’s frustrating for everyone here once we got going and we got the ball to Josh [Doctson] down the sideline. I didn’t see the play. He caught the ball on their sideline and I know they called the flag because he spun the ball, but I mean, to me it was where he caught the ball. I didn’t get to see it. I didn’t get a good look at it. And then things there the next couple plays with personal fouls and things like that, it’s tough. I mean, it’s an emotional game. You’ve got to play it kind of on that edge.
It’s a physical game, guys put a lot into this and it can be frustrating sometimes with some tough calls like that. Every time we made a play, every time we got something going, there was a flag on the ground and like I said, I think guys got frustrated. So I’m going to try and calm them down after that, but those few plays can be frustrating, but they’re not what we want to see either.”
Communicating with WR Josh Doctson after dropped passes:
“Yeah, certainly go talk to them. For me, it’s just you got to move on. Listen, its professional football. I can tell you it’s not going to be his last drop. It’s the nature of the game. Sitting and dwelling on it in the middle of the game wasn’t going to help us, so for me it’s just getting to move forward and move on and I think he did a great job bouncing back. He made a heck of a catch on the sideline there. That’s my idea. You’ve got to stay locked in, got to stay in the moment. Any dwelling on the past or doing anything else certainly isn’t going to do us any good.”
Hit on the sideline:
“No, I was good—Caught surprise mostly. I felt like I saw him out in front as I was running up the sideline. I definitely thought about ducking out. I did see AD [Adrian Peterson] running with me. Then my eyes went back inside and at that point—for me analyzing the possibility of cutting back and making a play, obviously that guy got up on me pretty quick and I didn’t see him.”
Offensive line injuries and backups coming in:
“I think you just try to communicate it as best you can—especially some of those young guys that are in there playing. G [Geron Christian Sr.] coming in and playing. Just trying to communicate as best I can. Try to help them out as best I can whether it be of cadence things like that—that I can use to try to help him.
I think with that, just staying positive, communicate as much as possible. If anything, just try to help calm it down those guys have to go in and play. They have a job to do. Certainly, anything distracting from that wouldn’t help us.”
Brandon Scherff's injury:
“It was really hard. Obviously with the flags and personal fouls—right at the peak of it. Frustrated by all that and then another play I didn’t see. Kind of late there with the whistle and getting thrown down—and then obviously losing him. He is a heck of player so when you’re already banged up to lose a guy like that hurts.”