Quotes - Mike Shanahan, Nov 10, 2010

[Mark the homer]

Note: I cannot provide a link because this is an email from the team.

November 10, 2010

Redskins Park



Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan



On running back Clinton Portis and running back Ryan Torain’s health:

“Clinton practiced today and so did Ryan. Ryan was a little bit more sore than I thought he would be. He didn’t get a lot of reps, said it was a little tight. Clinton went through the majority of practice. He says he feels improved. I still think he’s a little sore, pushing a little bit. So, he’ll get the reps during the week and we’ll get a better feel as the week goes on.”



On if Clinton Portis is ahead of Ryan Torain in his rehab:

“It’s hard to tell with the seriousness of the groin injury that Clinton has. It takes a while to get back in shape, recover and go through the soreness that he’s going through right now. It’s kind of hard to tell. Clinton will tell you more than I can tell you right now.”



On if he sees James Davis as a potential option this week:

“Yeah, James is doing a good job, so is [Chad] Simpson. He’s doing a good job as well. We’ve got to have a few guys ready.”



On if he has his decision on who will return kicks:

“No, I’m not really sure. He’s [Brandon Banks] doing a good job. He’s doing a good job in rehab. He’s working, getting three, four treatments a day. He’s made some strides. I’ll probably get a good feel on Friday if there’s a chance.”



On there being a chance that Brandon Banks will be ready for Monday:

“Yeah, there’s a chance. I think a lot has to do with his size, not as much weight on that knee. At least, we’re keeping our fingers crossed. There is a chance, though. He’s working out pretty hard.”



On how beneficiary the bye week and having a Monday night game is in the healing process:

“Yeah, a day and half is always good to have that extra time. The bye week came at a good time because we were pretty banged up.”



On what Brandon Banks is doing in his rehabilitation:

“He’s going through rehab. He’s going on the treadmill and got some good work today on the treadmill, so that’s a good sign. Not much swelling.”



On Brandon Banks’ conditioning being enough that he could be game ready:

“Oh yeah, he’d have to be game ready. He’s going through a lot of rehab right now. It’s a lot of work [on the] treadmill. They put you through a variety of different exercises. So, if he’s able to go, he should be full speed ahead.”



On how important Brandon Banks is to the team:

“Obviously he’s made some big plays for us. You want to make sure though that you don’t put him in there and lose him for the year, too. So, he’s got to be ready to go. It’s a little too soon to give you an up-to-date report on him, but there is a chance.”



On if there is a specific day that Brandon Banks would have to be practicing in order for him to play on Monday:

“As a receiver, probably. But as a return guy, we can get a good feel just watching him catch punts and catch kickoffs. I think his time as a wide receiver, that’s a lot different than just getting the punt returns and kickoff returns. It’s a little different situation than normal.”



On if there is anything different in film he has seen with the offensive line from the first four games:

“No, just a little bit more familiarity with the system, relative to the running game and the passing game. We’ve had guys banged up a little bit but we move people around in there and anytime you move people around, usually it’s a little tough to get that cohesiveness. Hopefully we will in the second half.”



On how much of an impact not having Clinton Portis is to the offense:

“I think it’s not just Clinton, I think it’s a little bit of everybody. You don’t want a lot of changes. You want to try to keep the same starters as much as possible. But, you’ve got people competing for a job, too. We’re trying to find that magic formula and hopefully we can find it Monday night.”



On if he has identified a specific problem on the team’s struggle on third down:

“Yeah, we go through each down and distance. We break it up one-to-two, three-to-four, five-to-seven, 8-to-11 and 12-plus. We take each one of those down-and-distance situations and we study it, go through it with different routes, different protections and hopefully our plan in the second half is better than our plan in the first half.”



On if the Redskins will practice the hurry-up offense this week:

“Yes, we will.”



On how linebacker Brian Orakpo gets held every game but still remains effective:

“He is relentless. To have him playing 100 miles per hour all the time gives you a chance to make plays both in the running game and the passing game. He is relentless in his approach, he studies the game extremely hard and he is going to be a big play guy for years to come.”



On quarterback Donovan McNabb throwing the ball around after practice:

“After you are on a bye week and you are away for about five or six days, usually Monday and Wednesday are tough for the quarterbacks and wide receivers. You try and get a little bit extra throwing in both days, so that is what they were doing after practice.”



On if he thinks Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is playing better than ever:

“Without a question – he is doing everything better. He is executing the offense better and he seems a lot more relaxed in the pocket going through his reads. He looks as fast as he did before, which I didn’t think was possible, because when I saw him come back the first year I thought I saw him drop off. Now it looks like he has his speed. I wasn’t sure if he could get it back, but you can see very quickly that he has got his speed back, he is in great shape and he is playing excellent football.”



On how rare is it to have a quarterback that is averaging more than eights yards per and attempt with no interceptions:

“It means [Michael] Vick is having a good year and he is playing extremely well. Sometimes when those interceptions come, they come in bunches and you never know. Sometimes the ball is tipped here or there, people drop a couple and usually it averages out. But, he is playing extremely well.”



On if Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid has anything to do with Vick’s success:

“Well, he is doing a great job, that is for sure, because he seems to be doing everything. He is throwing the ball deep and throwing the ball short. But, the thing that has amazed me more than anything is his ability to outrun everybody. Usually, when you get older you lose some of that speed, some of that quickness and lateral movement. He is making plays that you just don’t see by athletes nowadays. He is just one of those guys that comes around running the football every 20-30 years – if anybody has ever been like that, probably not, as a quarterback being able to run like that. He made a few runs in the last game that I just kind of laughed and I had to show everybody how incredible it was.”



On his preparation for playing an opponent for the second time this season, especially after the bye week:

“It is really and extra week. If you play somebody one time you got a good feel from a personnel standpoint. But, they are going to have a different gameplan just like we will. We are going to try and keep them off balance and they will try to keep us off balance. They have been playing extremely well since we have played them and we know we are going to have a great game because they are very talented.”



On if McNabb’s hamstrings are healed so he can practice the hurry-up offense:

“Well, right now, according to [Head Athletic Trainer] Larry Hess, he has improved from last week, but by no means is he full speed yet. Later on in the week I will get a feel for exactly where he is at, but right now I can’t tell you if he could go full speed.”



On if he talks to his players about having a 4-4 record and being able to control their own destiny in the division:

“I think anytime you can control your own destiny I think it is very important. Our players know that at the midway point. By playing the Giants twice and Philly once, we do control our own destiny. At the same time, we understand that it is the big picture. You have to take care of business everyday and go out there and do the little things. Hopefully we will have the win on Monday night.”