Jay Gruden Redskins Training Camp Presser: "Jamison Crowder is a QB's dream"

Jay Gruden answered questions before practice began today. Day 4 of training camp will be the first day players practice in full pads. He discussed various players returning from jnjury, position depth, the new helmet rule, and more.

Josh Harvey-Clemons:

"Yeah, we’ll— of course – we’ll continue to look at that. Once we get the pads on, play against other teams we’ll see. But he is very long and very slippery – so to speak. He’s about 230 pounds right now, he’s losing a little bit of weight out here [in] the heat but he’s doing a pretty good job. And, really, with the defensive line we have in front of him, they are doing a great job keeping the blockers off of him also, so that is very important, works hand to hand so those linebackers can flow sideline to sideline without getting guards up them right now. Playing against a team with a fullback, sometimes we’ll have to take on a fullback, obviously, but for the most part our defensive line is doing a good job keeping them off.”

Jonathan Allen:

Fabian Moreau:

"We practiced him a little bit last year, tried to get him going to backup Kendall [Fuller] but now we have Orlando [Scandrick] here, Orlando [Scandrick] is regulated in that role. We obviously need somebody else in that role, [Greg] Stroman is getting a little bit of it, Danny [Johnson] is getting a little bit of it, Fabian is getting a little bit of it.

So were working different guys in there and Fabian is one of them. The more versatility you can have at the cornerback position obviously the better chances you have to get on the field. Fabian knows that, even though he has only played defensive back for a short period in his career he is doing a great job as far as learning what we want to do and how we to do it.”

Paul Richardson/Jamison Crowder:

"Well those two guys are major contributors to our offense, Paul is our starting Z right now, that guy is a very important player, obviously in the passing game when taking the top off without a doubt, but he can run all types of routes. He and Alex [Smith] are just starting their process of getting to know each other. Jamison is a quarterback’s dream as far of getting open in the slot and being a great target for him, a friendly target. He plays a lot bigger than his size. He has very long arms, very athletic.

Those two guys are very important parts of the offense they all have their roles. Each play, each concept has its role. [The] Z, has a role, the zebra has a role, the X, the Y, the fullback, the halfback, whoever is in there they have their roles. We anticipate those guys doing a good job, Jamison always has, he is a great slot.”

Morgan Moses:

Jordan Reed:

Danny Johnson:

Center depth:

“Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to do. Tony Bergstrom is a veteran guy that’s played center and guard, and you know I think that back-up center has gotta be able to play multiple spot - center and both guards, you know. Because, if you dress seven on game day, that guy gotta be - obviously play both spots. Tony is a great guy to have because he can do that. [Casey] Dunn’s undrafted free agent we talked about yesterday, he’s one of those guys that showing up and done some good things. [Demetrius] Rhaney he can play center we’re trying to school him to guard. I know he feels like he’s a true center, but it’s important for those guys to play both guard spots. So, we’re working through it, and that’s a very important position. That guy is gonna play a lot [positions] as we learned last year.”

Jay Gruden, DB:

DJ Swearinger:

Safeties:

"Very exciting, we’ve had a tough time here finding the safeties. You know, when I first got here we tried to get a veteran guy leader back there, I think it was Ryan Clark, and then the next year we tried to get Dashon Goldson, a guy that’s played a lot and we tried to move DeAngelo Hall back there to try to get some kind of veteran leadership back there with the guys that can play. But now with D.J. coming back for his second year, Montae coming back for his second year, Deshazor [Everett] been here now two or three years so he’s got some great experience with going out there. We drafted [Troy] Apke to develop into another safety. It’s a great thing to have, you know, some experienced safeties back there. Now you can draft like Apke he can develop, be a great special teams core player for us also learning the system. [Kenny] Ladler is doing a good job. Fish [Smithson] is still doing a good job. So the safety position we feel pretty good about as opposed to years past where like, you know, we’re holding on.”

Trent Williams:

Alex Smith:

"Oh, I think everything is what we thought, you know he’s a great leader, he’s receptive to any type of coaching you want positive, negative. He just goes with flow and does what he’s asked to do. He’s very good at what he does, very accurate with the football and makes good, sound decisions. He’s just getting to know the offense, the terminology and getting to know the players around him right now. But, he’s fun to work with, he and Colt [McCoy] are doing a great job, and Kevin [Hogan]. So, it’s a great quarterback room, we’re excited to have him and that position we know that is very, very important to the success of a football team and obviously over the last five years nobody has won more games than Alex other than [Tom] Brady, I think. So, it’s a treat to have him.”