From the Sidelines With Gregg Williams
By Gary Fitzgerald
Redskins.com
September 10, 2004
Gregg Williams, assistant head coach-defense, discussed the status and makeup of the Redskins defense heading into this Sunday's season opener against Tampa Bay.
Q: How much of your defense is trying to dictate to the offense?
"When a defense attacks and a defensive player says he is dictating, you still have to react to a block, react to a pattern, and react to the run or pass. But the movement and the key responsibilities going into that is aggressive. Our guys have bought in pretty well into that aggressiveness. If we are just playing coverage, they want to play aggressive in that coverage. On Sunday, that is predicated on what Tampa bay gives to us. They are going to do everything in the world to keep us from dictating to them. We are going to hopefully have some answers to that."
Q: Are there any nuances that you are extra excited to see out there defensively now that preseason is over?
A: "That is a loaded question in respect to that we have to match what they put out there. Whatever personnel they put out there will depend on the packages that we play. We are ready for anything. We are ready for what they put out there. We will be multiple in that respect. We will also be simple because our guys have a good grasp of things as they flow through packages."
Q: What are you looking for from the nose tackles on your defense?
A: "We want our defensive tackles playing as physical as possible. We are going to play a lot of guys there. We dress four tackles and all four of those guys are going to play. Depending on what [Tampa Bay] does offensively, that will decide who actually will be the nose tackle. It's not going to steady. Jon Gruden teams are well coached and they will give us an awful lot of smoke and mirrors. They will give us a lot of shifts and motions. It will change our alignments when they do that."
Q: What has Joe Salave'a shown you in preseason that has impressed you?
A: "He is solid. I know him from when we drafted him at Tennessee. He still has his legs and is a very powerful at the point. We need that inside. You need to play the run well enough to rush the passer later on in the downs."
Q: What were the factors in shifting Lavar Arrington to the weak-side linebacker this year?
A: "Good linebackers can play anywhere. In his career, he has played everywhere. Right now, it is just how we have it slated with the people we have here. We are flexible with our system and what we play on defense to try and fit the best personnel we have here. In all honesty, Lavar and Marcus [Washington] are interchangeable. You will see that in the ball game. You will see our strong-side linebacker and our weak-side linebacker play the same."
Q: As you've watched Joe Gibbs this preseason, how much has he had to adjust to the current NFL defensive schemes?
A: "When he was here last time, he went against the biggest pressure team in his division, with Buddy Ryan's team in Philadelphia. They handled that package of people pretty well. Being with Jeff Fisher, I have seen those films and I know what Philly had to do to try to win a ball game against a Joe Gibbs team. Joe Gibbs' system is sound. It challenges us on defense every day in practice. They are very challenging. You don't go through the preseason with three sacks without having a good system. Last year my understanding is that they had a tough time protecting the quarterback. I was in one of those ball games and I couldn't believe Patrick [Ramsey] kept getting up. Now we can't get to him and in preseason games the opposition had a tough time getting to our quarterback. That is a positive thing."
Q: Do any players on the Buccaneers' offense worry you?
A: "All of them. I think they are very well coached. Charlie Garner is a huge weapon for them coming from Oakland. I have a lot of respect for him. He plays the game with tremendous passion. Tim Brown--you can't discount the years and the plays of experience that he has. Brad Johnson is a very good quarterback. They have improved on the offensive line. They did a good job in the off-season. They have taken some heat for rolling the roster over. They did what they had to do and I think they have gotten better."
Q: The defensive has two relatively inexperienced backup ends. What did you see in Ron Warner and Demetric Evans that helped them make the team?
A: "Toughness and effort. You can't ever jeopardize that or compromise toughness and character. That's what Coach Gibbs has wanted here. That's what got me here."
Q: How has Ade Jimoh progressed this offseason?
A: "His confidence. He made a concentrated effort to play the ball better. And he did a very good job on special teams. You can't discount that speed. Your special teams will improve when the speed of your team improves, because that's the hardest thing to see in practice sessions-the other team's speed."
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