Joe Gibbs, Aug. 6 @ Training Camp
August 6, 2004
Opening Statement:
"Our practice this morning was basically trying to give each other looks--Denver looks. It wasn't as intense as what we might have done. Tonight we are going to review a lot of things. We will try to polish this up towards the end of the week and hopefully we will play a good game against Denver."
On LaVar Arrington's sitting out:
"He got leg whipped last night. It was nothing serious. He had a little swelling on the lower portion of his leg."
On Mike Barrow's knee injury:
"I think he had a little bit of a problem with his knee. He has got a situation there where we have been giving him a little bit of a break. I think he's fine."
On his game plan for the Hall of Fame game:
"I think in the preseason what you like to do is play a good solid game, abide by all the game's principles. You don't want to turn the ball over. You want very few penalties. I think you want to execute a lot of stuff. It will be the first time we have had a chance to call plays, get substitutions in and out, and use the clock. So there is a lot to it. That is what we are going to try to do tonight at practice. We are going to try to organize everything so that we have a kind of a preview tonight. Warm-ups, halftime, there are so many things that are going on. You just want to go through that one time and get everything as organized as you can, because on Monday night, you know it is going to be organized chaos."
On how much time the starters will get at the Hall of Fame game:
"I never decide that ahead. We will play them until we feel good about it. I never like to say ahead."
On Jon Jansen:
"One of the things that is most important to me is somebody you can really count on, who is there all the time and never misses a play. He is very smart and highly motivated. I think that means a lot to coaches. To have somebody you can count on, who has been here during the offseason. I think he adds a lot to the team. He's a real team guy. He wants to do well in the league, and he wants to be one of the premier guys in the league. And he is really important to us. Anybody on the offensive line is really important to us, those tackle positions are very important. I think we have a very solid player there, and football means a lot to him."
On who will start at the H-back position in the Denver game:
"We haven't decided that yet. That's up to (Tight Ends Coach) Rennie Simmons. Mike Sellers has still been gimped a little bit so we will see. I think they all will get plenty of work. The other thing about that H-back spot is that a couple of those guys can play tight end, so they will get a little work at both of those places."
On balancing the use of Chad Morton between offense and special teams:
"I think you are always torn on that. I go back to Darrell Green. He's a corner, but we know he is a great punt returner. We tried to use him back there and he won the Chicago playoff game for us, but then he got hurt. The thing I appreciate about Chad is that he has made every practice, every lick, he takes the ball coming out of the backfield, does everything on special teams. I have got to tell you, people like that show up every time and run every play as hard as they can. I think we will probably wind up using him on offense."
On Chad Morton's abilities:
"He is decisive, quick, has great hands. With the backs, we do a lot of options stuff, so you have to be very smart. They have got to be really hooked up with the quarterback and get a good pass read. You have to be able to depend on him. And I think he can do that. He can win coming out of the backfield up against a linebacker."
On the fans:
"I really appreciate all the fans. It is hard to believe you could have people come out here and be that energetic in the heat. I'm sorry we couldn't get more autographs to everybody. Hopefully, tomorrow for fan day we will get a lot done."
On the offensive line:
"I think that group is highly motivated. I think they have been here in the off-season and worked extremely hard. As you know we had some surgeries there, they came back great from all that stuff, which took a lot of work. In particular, the guys who had shoulder surgeries had to work hard. I think those guys have a lot of pride. For the time that I have been here, they have been highly motivated, and I don't think asked much more from their work."
On James Thrash:
"When his name came up, he was at Philly, and everyone in the organization, including Dan Snyder, Vinny Cerrato, Bubba Tyer and everybody else said 'He is a Redskin.' I hear the quarterbacks say he only has one speed, fast. I say he will use every ounce of his ability. People ask why, and I say 'Just watch him.' He takes great notes, he is super smart, he works himself silly, and he makes every play. He is anxious to get in there. He can run the other teams plays. I heard he was starting hurt and then still ran the other teams plays. He is just that kind of guy, really impressive."
On Gibran Hamdan:
"I think we are getting ready to find out about him, since we start to play soon. I think he has been impressive so far. What we do is, we sit at night with coaches and review where we are position-wise and his name has come up. I think we are anxious to match him up against other people and see how he does. I think it still remains to be seen with almost all the players."
On the new-ness of his return:
"I think a lot of it is new. Getting back in groove takes more than a week. I think it is the same with players. Obviously, we have a lot of changes to get used to. I have been impressed with our attitude. You can tell our guys are serious about this."
On using head phones to call the plays:
"We didn't have that the first go-around, but I wish we had. We used signals, and all that stuff drives you crazy. Someone gets their signal, then you get two guys signaling and it just gets crazy. Now we have signaling as a back-up system. We still like to have it because every now and then the electronics break down. But I like this system much better. I think it's much quicker. I don't like the fact they took time out between plays, but having said that you have to be fast, we probably can't do as much as we did before formation wise."
On concerns that opposing teams might try to read his lips:
"If they are going to read my lips, then they can read my lips. Most of the time I will probably be saying 'You Idiot! Hit the open guy!' So if they read some of that, it will probably just confuse them."
On emotion being a part of the game:
"I'm always kind of amazed at people who say people aren't emotional on the sidelines. I think normally those are the people who are calling the plays because you always say to everybody it's like taking a test. When you are taking a test you don't find people jumping up and down or running and screaming. You are focused. You just try to rack your mind for everything you can think of. You are just intense in what you are doing. Then you get the label that you are not emotional. I think most people that call plays, including Tom Landry and Bill Walsh, are pretty stoic, because you are standing there wondering 'My gosh, what is on here that is going to work? I have got a lot of stuff on here and none of it is going to work.'"
On the new challenges a coach has to face:
"You are so focused on the next play and what could happen. One of the things that has changed is that now, you have two point situation. And that is another decision process. And then we will have the ability to challenge plays."
On the challenges presented by the shortened play clock:
"It is still a real challenge to get in what you want. To get the formation calls and to get your people in, because you are substituting, that's another big deal. So to get all that organized and to then get the play called, in particular what will happen, is there a long pass and something down in the red area, or there is a play where you are trying to say is it third-and-three, which is passing, or third-and-one, which is jumbo. So you are trying to figure out what is it. Many times the guys on the field will give you the wrong information and then you get the wrong guys on the field. You make mistakes there. I'm kind of sad we took time out between plays because it is so critical."
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