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Head Coach Jay Gruden**
On wearing out the defense with successful drives:
"It's important. Our offensive line did a good job blocking, obviously. Both our fullbacks in the game did a nice job. Of course the receivers blocking downfield, getting those tough yards. Those yards after contact instead of those three-yard gains, you're getting four or five yards. It was good to see some cutback runs. Some guys made some physical runs and all sorts of things. It opened up some play-action. Overall, it was a good performance by everybody. Now it's just time to move on. Unfortunately, it doesn't count, but I was impressed with the way they came out, offensively and defensively. We got a couple stops right away. We had some pressure on the quarterback, which is exciting. Special teams did a good job other than the couple penalties. Overall, all three phases [performed well] I think – something to build off of. That's all we're looking for."
On which players stood out:
"Well on the sidelines…I have to watch the tape. It's hard to tell with the interior guys and the linemen until you watch the tape. Obviously, [running back] Silas Redd had some physical runs, and was impressive, and then [running back] Lache Seastrunk came in there had a couple splash runs, which was good to see. From a receiver standpoint, [Rashad] Ross had another big catch. He's made some big catches all along. [Wide receiver] Aldrick Robinson, he just continues to make play after play after play. Then defensively, it was good to see [linebacker Brian] Orakpo get a sack and some of the safeties fly around. Not only on defense, but on special teams, like [safety] Akeem Davis. I saw him make a big hit on special teams and do a good job. There's a lot of guys from the naked eye that did a pretty good job. Now it's time to watch the film, correct them and continue to build on what they're doing."
On what he thought about quarterback Robert Griffin III's performance:
"Not a lot. We had a whole plan for him the first five or 10 plays. We're trying to get the running game going obviously with Alfred [Morris]. [We're] trying to get some runs going, trying to get him outside of the pocket. On third down, we had a couple third down plays scripted. Unfortunately, we didn't finish that drive. Took a play action shot, it didn't work. We came back on a third down in the red zone and he had to throw it away, had a little bit of pressure. Overall, he managed the game and got the guys out in the huddle. We got what we wanted to do. We got about an eight-play drive together, went off the field, and it's something to build off of."
On if he considered putting Griffin III back in the game:
"No, we got about eight to 10 plays with the ones [first team], and we got it on the first drive, so they were done. That's what we wanted, just wanted to get them out there. This is the first preseason game for the ones. It's about getting them out there with the pregame warmup, put their pads on, come out of the tunnel and understand what it takes to start the game. Give them a few plays, and get them out. Tomorrow and next week, they'll have a few more plays and in the third preseason game they'll have more plays, and then we've over there to Houston."
On what he takes away from not playing against the Patriots starters:
"I don't take anything from it. All I take from it is what our players did, and how we can improve on our performance moving forward and that's it. That's what the preseason's about. We're trying to evaluate players and build off what we're doing – teach our concepts, teach our fundamentals and teach everything we're teaching about football. As far as wins and losses, obviously we're trying to win, but we're trying to evaluate people more so than anything else."
On how the defense responded to quarterback Ryan Mallett:
"The pass rush was live, No. 1. We were able to get some pressure and force them to throw the ball away and make some hurried throws and some decisions that he didn't' have to make, you know, a little bit quicker than he might have had to in practice. That's the whole thing. If you give these quarterbacks in the NFL time to throw, they're going to dice you. Fortunately, we got pressure at the right time. Hopefully, that's a trend. That's something that's mandatory in the NFL with the teams and the quarterbacks that we play, so we have to continue fighting our guys every day to make sure we're going to rush the quarterback with a relentless pursuit to the football, because like I said, there's a lot of great quarterbacks out there. If you give them time to throw, we learned the hard way that they will dice you up."
On improved tackling:
"I was happy with the tackling. I was impressed, because I'm telling you, New England has four backs that are very good, maybe five. You know they weren't playing their starters, but those four or five backs, they've been starting for a lot of teams and they're very good. I think their line was out there for a little while. It was good to see us wrap up. It was good to see us gang tackling and flying around to the football. I felt good watching these guys. I'll watch the tape, too. I felt good about the pursuit angle. I felt good about the finishes on the tackles. I felt good about our secondary, but I'm sure there's a lot of correctable things that we'll notice on the tape, and that's what it's all about right now. The main thing we want to get out of there is we want to set our standards high as far as pursuit and tackling, and so far so good, but obviously we have a long way to go."
On his initial impressions of running backs Lache Seastrunk and Silas Redd:
"Yeah, I was impressed with both of them. You know, Redd between the tackles, he's a good power runner. He's got great vision. He's shown [that] in practice so far and we want to see him carry it over into the game and it did today. Lache is obviously known for his big play ability. He popped a couple again today. You know, I had to show him that much in practice, but you can't really tell in practice because it's just a thud. But it's good to see him get out there. He's just got to do a better job of lowering his pads, you know. He takes some of the more violent hits I've seen a running back take. He's got to lower his pads when he gets near the sideline and in the hole, but very impressed with both of them."
On if it is wide receiver Ryan Grant's reputation to snatch the ball whenever it comes near him:
"Yeah, yeah it is. He's taken advantage of every rep he's gotten at training camp and again today he caught a quick out and obviously made a great catch in the bootleg that Colt [McCoy] threw him. He's an impressive kid. He's very mature and he doesn't mess around. He's a focused individual – one of the more focused players I've seen in a while. It's great to have him. He's continuing to get better."
On keeping order on the sideline and the emotion upon walking out:
"Yeah, it was chaotic more so for me than everybody else. It was a little crazy with all the headsets and having defense on one line and offense on the other. I'm used to just coaching offense, but it was a little different today. Overall, I felt good about the order. I felt we were organized. From pregame warm-up, I was out there and everything was good, you know, but having 85 to 90 guys on the sideline, it's rough. But overall, I felt that they were all into the game. But it was great. It was an exciting experience coming out of the tunnel, seeing all the fans here. It was something I will always remember. Too bad it was a preseason game, but I'm sure the first home, regular season game will be a little bit more intense."
On his impressions of the kickers:
"Well, now we'll look at the tape, but obviously we kicked off one time out of bounds and missed the field goal. We got a delay of game [penalty]. Zach [Hocker] had a great couple good kickoffs and a good tackle and made a field goal. Kai, you know, he had a kickoff out of bounds like I said, so that's a decision that's going to come after the fourth preseason game. I know it… I don't know where it's going to go, there's really nobody leading right now, it's going to be down to the wire I'm sure."
On having a powerful running game and how he envisions it throughout the season:
"Yeah, we would like to have that. We'd like to have thunder and lightning, so to speak, or just have a couple thunders – it doesn't matter. I think, [running back] Alfred [Morris] is going to get his bulk of carries and he's going to need to have a rest every now and then, and whoever that guy is – whether it's Roy [Helu, Jr.], whether it's Silas, whether it's Lache, whether it's Chris Thompson – that is to be determined. I think Roy had some good runs today and a good catch, I know, and some runs after his catches. He's done some good things. To find the second or third back is going to be important for us."
On whether or not there were any significant injuries:
"I don't think any of it was significant. I think Roy hurt his knee a little bit, and a couple other little minor tweaks. I'm trying to think who else… I'm not sure. Roy Helu, he'll be OK. Chris Thompson hurt his ankle a little bit. [WR Aldrick] Robinson got the wind knocked out of him, but he came back in. I think that's about it."
Quarterback Robert Griffin III
On only running 10 plays:
"We came out and did what we wanted to do. We got the ones [first team] in and out. We had an effective drive. You can have eight to 10 plays in one series, two series or three series, and we did it in one. We got some points and almost had a touchdown. The rest of our guys did a good job of going out there, executing the offense and putting some points on the board. I think it was a positive for us. We'll take tomorrow off and then be back at work on Saturday ready to go."
On how Tuesday's practices impacted the game today:
"They made some adjustments, but it was pretty vanilla on both sides of the ball – our offense and what they did on defense, a lot of two-high [safety], one-high [safety]. But they did some things differently with dropping some guys into coverage, doing a little drop eight, which they had done a little bit of in practice, but more so when we were out there. They took some things away, but we were able to progress and get to our other progressions and then make plays."
On Head Coach Jay Gruden's run-heavy game plan:
"I think he wanted to get his guys in and out and keep us healthy. We'll move on to the next game and we'll get some more snaps. And those offensive linemen like to run the ball. Let them get their hands dirty in there for a couple plays and get [running back] Alfred [Morris] some touches. We played off that really well."
Quarterback Kirk Cousins
On his play tonight:
"I felt good. There's always going to be plays you want back, but overall, I felt it was a good first game. I'm learning, growing and building a good foundation for year three."
On the touchdown to wide receiver Aldrick Robinson and if it was redemption for missing the first one:
"It was a great catch by him on the first one, too. On both of them, he made a great play. It was a good play call by Coach [Jay Gruden]; it put us in a good situation to be successful, and all I had to do was put the ball in Aldrick's chest."
On the potential for explosive plays from the running backs:
"Both Alfred Morris and Roy Helu have given us a lot of explosive plays in the past, so if we can continue the trend of having a guy like Alfred run for 1,000 yards each year, we're going to be in good shape. We're excited about the running backs that we have."
Wide Reciever Aldrick Robinson
On his touchdown catch:
"Time of the play was perfect. [Quarterback] Kirk [Cousins] made a great throw and I ran a good route and I got open for him and I made the catch."
On how important this night was in earning a roster spot:
"Every time I get on the field, it's important. It's a tough competition and I know every time I get out there I've got to take advantage of every opportunity I get."
On what he feels he has improved on:
"My route running. I was known as fast guy. As you can see tonight, I can run routes and catch the ball. Consistency is key and I'm still trying to work on that."
On if versatility as a receiver is more important than speed:
"Oh yeah, definitely. You want to be known as an all-around receiver. You don't want to be a one-trick pony in this league."
Kicker Zach Hocker
On the PATs being taken from the 15-yard line:
"We were both talking about it taking the field, and my very first [attempt], I took the field not even noticing we were going to be [kicking the extra point] from the 15… and seeing the lineman back up. It's a lot longer out here than what you think and I'm very happy that we got to convert them. We'll see what happens with it."
On kicker Kai Forbath helping him improve his kicking:
"Kai is a guy that I really look up to. He's had nothing but a successful NFL career, and being a rookie, he's done a great job taking me in and showing me the ropes. Just a guy that I look up to as far as the way he handles himself in preparation. He's done a great job kind of showing me that and getting me prepared for the next level."
On his first NFL tackle:
"Yeah, that was different. The touchback would have been great, but getting to convert the tackle and, you know, I had to make a couple tackles in college and finally getting that one NFL tackle out of the way definitely boosts my confidence the next time they bring one up to make the play."
Running Back Lache Seastrunk
On if he had a "Welcome to the NFL" moment:
"When [the coaches] called my name and told me to go in, I think that was the highlight. I felt like 'Oh man, I'm here and this is my time to shine.' So it was pretty cool."
On if there were any surprises in the schemes tonight:
"No, sir, we knew exactly what they were going to do. We knew the scheme very well. [Running Backs] Coach [Randy] Jordan coached us up very well, and let us know what was going on and how we were going to run the ball. What he preached, we practiced, and it showed on the field."
On the other running backs he's working with:
"I'm honored to be around Alfred Morris, Evan Royster and Chris Thompson. They're a good group of guys; they're great running backs. I'm just trying to see where I fit in there."
