Jay Gruden Redskins OTAs Presser: Not concerned with Offensive Line right now

Jay Gruden answered a few questions following today's open OTA practice. The Redskins were inside the practice bubble today due to the recent rain. Gruden talked about Alex Smith, injuries, and more.

Alex Smith:

Tyler Catalina injury:

Offensive line:

Orlando Scandrick starting CB?:

“Yeah, we’re trying him out there. Without a doubt, he’s got experience there. He’s got experience at nickel. You see him at nickel. Having him here is a great benefit, not just for our defense but for Jamison [Crowder] and all out slot receivers working against a nickel with great experience. He brings great experience to the defensive back room, but he also helps the offense in the way he sees things and communicates with us, maybe things we can do better as far as attacking certain coverages.”

Quinton Dunbar:

Josh Norman/Dancing with the Stars:

Zach Brown:

Robert Davis:

New rules for kickoffs and lowering the helmet:

“Yeah, our special teams coach went up there with a couple other special teams coaches and they talked about possible rule changes. I don’t know what’s been officially set yet, so we’ve kind of talked about it and tinkered around with it at rookie OTAs – what the rule might possibly be – but I’ll wait and see what the official wording is of the rule. We’ll adjust. And the lowering of the helmet, I don’t know which ones they decided to go with, so we’ll see. I know there’s been a lot of talk about bull rushes and they’re trying to obviously protect the players, but we’ve just got to be careful.”

More kick returns?:

"I don’t know. That’s a good question. I think without the guys getting a running start, number one, it could be. I think it’s just something… I have to see it before I can really make any judgments on it. Until I actually see it, I think the type of player on kickoff might change a little bit. You might need more speed obviously if you’re going to start from a standing start, but I don’t know. The same with kickoff returns. You’ve got to get back there. I think you’ll see less… There won’t be any offensive linemen out there. Sometimes you’ll have an offensive lineman to help the wedge, but I think for the most part, you’re going to see more speed guys. But I’ve got to wait and see how that impacts. The good thing about our kickoff team, I think having Hop [Dustin Hopkins] here, our kicker, he can do a lot of different things. He can high-hop, I mean, he can kick it high, he can pin you in a corner, he can kick it out of the end zone, so either way, we’ll be good.”

Josh Doctson:

“Josh has done great, man. He’s been available for us and he’s just getting that work with Alex, but he’s done a good job. He looks good. He looks more comfortable as far as his stems and routes and understanding out breaking the huddle, just like that, knowing what to do. He’s really never had a problem with that, but he just looks more comfortable. He’s got a good feel. Paul [Richardson Jr.] has done an excellent job. You could see his speed out there today. Obviously Jamison had another big day today. He’s been outstanding. Rob Davis, until his injury yesterday, had a big-time day. Mo Harris has stepped up still. He’s lining up all over the place, doing a great job. We got some young guys stepping up. So it’s fun to watch these guys compete. We’ve got a lot of good guys to choose from.”

Jonathan Allen:

Running backs:

"I’ll tell you what, just today in general, you could see the competition. You could see Rob Kelley step up. Samaje Perine’s had a couple big days. Byron Marshall, I mean, he had a couple great routes today. He’s running the ball between the tackles. [Kapri] Bibbs had some big runs yesterday. Obviously, Derrius Guice has come in here and fueled the fire a little bit. He’s done an excellent job picking up what we’re trying to do, and Chris Thompson is standing back here with a hat on backwards watching. I feel really good about where our running backs are right now. Competition’s great, and it’s going to continue to be so. I think that position will be one of strength this year.”