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Redskins Park: Quotes - Mike Shanahan, Jim Haslett, Kyle Shanahan
November 12, 2010
Redskins Park
Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan
On Brandon Banks’ injury status:
“Yeah, we got a look at him today. He caught the ball. He didn’t overdue it. We’ll get a chance to see if his knee swells up tomorrow and exactly how he’s doing. We’ll do that for the next couple of days and probably won’t make a decision until game time.”
On if Banks only caught punts and kicks and/or ran pass routes:
“No, just catching.”
On if Banks has any swelling due to his rehab:
“No, it’s typical rehab. There’s always a little swelling anytime there’s surgery and anytime you’re pushing it but, not to any high degree. We feel good about it thus far. We just can’t push him too much each day. We’re just going to get a little feel on how he can do and make a decision by gameday.”
On if he has ever seen someone come back from an injury like Banks’ so soon:
“Well, not very often. I’ve had a linebacker or two come back within a week. Normally at the skilled positions it’s 2-3 weeks. Talking about him as a returner and a receiver, and you’ve just got to take it day by day. You don’t want to push him too hard, but if he’s ready to go, he’ll be ready to go.”
On Ryan Torain’s injury status:
“Ryan did a pretty good job. There was no setback. He’s, again, day by day. He’s pushing himself pretty hard and hopefully tomorrow he’ll feel good.”
On if the league will let him make a move on Sunday:
“That’s a good question. I think with a Monday night game, I would think it’d be just like Sunday [game with] 24 hours before. Yeah, I would think it’d have to go that way.”
On Clinton Portis’ injury status:
“Good. It’s a little bit more difficult for him because you’ve got to be really careful. He wants to go but is still a little bit sore. I think the doctors will look at it and talk to him tomorrow to see how he’s doing. We’ll get a better feel of it after talking to the doctors exactly what direction we should go with him. But, he’s biting at the bit. He wants to go, I know that. We just have to make sure we’re smart relative to his injury.”
On what Portis was able to do during practice:
“He got a little work in [during] the first period [of practice]. He got a little bit of reps in. Didn’t want to overdo it. Didn’t want it to swell up too much. He was a little bit sore yesterday. But, I’ve been around Clinton. I just know him. It’s hard to keep him away so, you’ve got to do what’s right.”
On how he oversees and handles an offensive coordinator installing the gameplan:
“Usually with the offense, you’re involved in all phases. Each day you implement some phase of the game plan and you go through all phases. If it’s first downs, second downs, third downs, short yardage, goal line, red zone, two minute. You go through all of the different scenarios and each day you’ve got to set a game plan on what you install.”
On if Kyle Shanahan is pretty autonomous on voicing what he likes to do with the offense:
“Everybody’s involved since I’ve been a coordinator or a head coach. Even when you’re a coordinator, you’re hoping you’re getting the best people at their positions. So, when you’re installing a running game, [Offensive Line Coach] Chris [Foerster] has got a lot of input with the passing game. [Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach] Bobby Turner with his experience in the running game and in the passing game, obviously go with the wide receivers and quarterbacks. We get a lot of input from everybody. You come up with a plan, you go over the defenses and different ways to attack different people. It’s a process.”
On if he feels James Davis is comfortable with the terminology:
“I think anytime you have a guy in for a couple of weeks, it’s always going to be limited on what he can do naturally. So, we’ll have a certain part of the game plan that if he is activated and he is the guy, then he’ll know and see if he feels comfortable with what we’re doing.”
On why Michael Vick is so effective when teams send extra guys:
“Number one, he’s got a lot of skill out there. He’s got wide receivers and tight ends making some big plays for him. He’s got the ability of somebody who does not hit a lane the correct way, he’s got a chance to make something happen. So, people are a little bit more guarded when you’re averaging eight yards per rushing attempt because [if] they run by him, he’s gone. Not many people can catch him.”
On what the Eagles do particularly well in rushing the passer:
“I think a lot of teams that have a philosophy of attacking, you’re always hoping that you’re up. And what I mean by up, you’re scoring more points than the opposition, which with their type of defensive scheme, if you get behind you’ve got to catch up. [They] do a great job putting pressure on the quarterback, getting sacks, getting turnovers. One of the reasons they’ve been so successful through the years. To limit their amount of pressure, you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got a balanced attack and you don’t get behind by too much.”
On if he has enjoyed working with Kyle Shanahan:
“Yeah, it’s really been great. You think you have an idea, but until you work with your son, you don’t know for sure. You kind of get a feel in a meeting when somebody is implementing the running game or the passing game, if they know totally what’s going on. When you feel somebody take control of a meeting, relative to the running game or the passing game, it doesn’t take long to figure out if somebody is capable of doing it.”
On if he feels relieved that Kyle Shanahan came in and has been successful:
“Without a question. As a head football coach, it doesn’t matter if it’s the defense, offense or special teams. My job is to spend time with coaches and when coaches know what they’re doing, there’s not a whole lot a head coach does except talk to the media.”
On how many of the meetings he sits in on:
“Yeah, I’ve got different cameras set up and when they want to turn me off, they know how to turn me off, so I’ve got to be really careful. They do it all the time. What I do is I have everything taped. We’re just taping the screens so I can keep abreast with what’s going on if I’m watching the secondary meeting or watching the coaches explain. It’s been great for me through the years. I got the idea from San Francisco. Bill Walsh did it through all his days. When I went there as an offensive coordinator, I went back 10 years and looked at every meeting with every coordinator and kind of learned their system and learned their terminology. So, when I was hired there, I got a chance to really know before the players came in, exactly what was done for 10 previous years by looking at all of that film. It’s kind of a philosophy, a lot of top businesses do that when they hire new people and talk about how they do things. So, I implemented that and it’s helped me.”
On the captains for the rest of the season:
“At the halfway point, we always add a new captain. Casey Rabach was on offense, DeAngelo Hall on defense and Lorenzo Alexander was our captain on special teams for the remainder of the year. So, along with Donovan [McNabb] is Casey. Along with London [Fletcher] obviously is DeAngelo and we’ve had captains on special teams week-by-week and always at the midseason, we elect one for the remainder of the season, and by no surprise is Lorenzo Alexander.”
On there being reciprocation between he and Kyle Shanahan teaching one another:
“There’s no question about it. These young guys, it’s like any profession. You get some young guys with some great ideas, they know how to work the computer, they take a look at things, they enjoy the game and they study the game. It’s an ongoing process. Once you quit learning, usually you’re out of the profession pretty quick.”
On Brian Orakpo’s back issue yesterday:
“He practiced today and looked good. [There] should be no problem.”
On LaRon Landry:
“LaRon practiced as well. Hopefully there’s no issue there.”
Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett
On if the defensive gameplan for DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin will change from the Week 4 meeting:
"We always change things up because I think if you stay complacent, one, Andy [Reid] is a great coach and coordinator, him and [Offensive Coordinator] Marty [Mornhinweg] will do a good job of figuring out what we were doing and combat it. In this business it's always a little chess game. I do think its part of it. They got five, six guys that you have to deal with and it's not easy. We don't have enough bodies to handle them all. You can't put two on everybody. You got to pick and choose throughout the game where you want to go with it. Hopefully, we have enough of them that are right that we can be successful."
On if the cornerbacks played as well as they could have against Jackson and Maclin in the first meeting:
"It wasn't just the corners. It was the linebackers, the corners, the safeties, kind of everybody. The game plan going in was to make sure those guys didn't catch a lot of balls on us and we did that. They got other weapons. They got a heck of a running back. Really, going into the [first] game, I didn't know he was as good as he is. He's a really good football player. He’s elusive. We didn't tackle him well. The quarterback ran, obviously he got hurt, but they got a lot of weapons. It's not just those two. It's the running back, the quarterback, the tight end. Even the third wide out, I think he's a heck of a football player also."
On Michael Vick's impact on the offense:
"We changed after he went out. We did some things different based on the quarterback. I think both of them are very good football players. They are both efficient. I think [Kevin] Kolb is going to be a heck of a player in the league when he gets his opportunity to play. He's a good player. Obviously, Michael adds another dimension to the game when he starts running around. He's got those legs. I played him so many times when I was in New Orleans. He's hard to account for. First off, everyone says 'You can put somebody on him.' You got to have someone fast enough to catch him. That is the first thing. Then, you got to work in and have the right angles. There are a lot of things that go into it. I don't think you can sit here and put one guy on him and then you got to deal with all of the other guys. You got to be smart when you do it."
On how much the game changed when Vick left the first meeting:
"It obviously took the dimension of him running but even [Kevin] Kolb ran it on us some. It's not just one guy. I think they are a heck of a football team. I think the scheme is unbelievable. Andy does a great job and Marty with the scheme. Just the players they have, that's why they are third in the league in total offense. They get a lot of yards on you."
On if Vick's passing accuracy has improved on account of his technique:
"I'm not a quarterback coach. I just know this, he can throw the thing about 75 yards in the air. Our safeties better be way back when he throws it. That's all I can tell you. I don't know if shuffling his feet [has improved his accuracy]. I have seen him throw off his other foot. I have seen him throw sideways. I have seen him throwing on the run. I saw one early in the season, he threw 65 yards on a rope right down the middle of the field and he was running sideways. I don't think his feet really have anything to do with it. He can throw it. He's been accurate. I think it's been more of the scheme than anything. He's a heck of a player."
On who would be assigned to shadow Vick:
"Who's going to catch him? I don't think there's anybody that fast."
On if LaRon Landry could shadow Vick:
"If you do that, then you have back end issues. You just got to be smart."
On who mimicked Vick this week in practice:
"You can't do that either. First, you got to have a left handed guy. You got to have somebody that can run. We use our quarterbacks and they do the best that they can."
On Vick not throwing an interception this season:
"He's grown up a lot. His time being away from football has taught him to take care of the ball and do a lot of different things. I think he's really grown up since he has been back in the league. He understands the ball is precious and he does a good job of protecting it."
On if he inquired about Vick last year when he was with the Florida Tuskers:
"We talked to his agent about him. I talked to him when I was in St. Louis about possibly coming there. He ended up in the right spot. Andy [Reid] and Marty [Morhinweg] [are] doing a great job with him."
On if he thought he could convince Vick to join him in Florida:
"Not at the time. We didn't think it was realistic."
On what makes Brian Orakpo a great pass rusher:
"I think he's relentless first of all. He has a great knack for it. He's powerful. He's really strong. He's fast off of the edge. He shocks people when he hits them. I think his career will even get better when he has a couple more inside moves. I think he'll just expand. The guy is relentless. He's really a heck of a pass rusher. He's explosive. He's fast. He's everything you are looking for in a pass rusher."
On Orakpo recording seven sacks despite not having Andre Carter on the opposite side of the defensive line:
"When I got here, everyone kept saying, 'Well, he got 11 sacks last year because Andre was on the other side.' I just think he's a heck of a player. I don't think it really makes a difference who was on the other side because he is a good football player. He is a good pass rusher. People have to look for him and have to chip him and do those types of things. He will have his work cut out for him. Last year, he came in as an unknown. People really didn't know who he was. I think in one game he had four sacks. All of sudden 11 are not hard to get when you get four [in one game] with his kind of ability. He needs to turn in a game in here pretty soon where he gets three or four and I think the numbers will jump off of the roof."
On where Orakpo is as a run defender:
"I think he's an excellent run defender. I think he's a heck of a cover guy. He drops into coverage. He's good. He's smart. He knows how to cover tight ends and running backs when he gets in space. I think he can do everything."
On if Orakpo's cover ability is a result of his athleticism or work ethic:
"I think it's both. He's really smart. I think he's really athletic. You got to have a will to do it. I watched film last year and I said, 'Well, he is OK as a cover guy,' because they used him as a linebacker more than a rush guy. I think he has the ability to do both and be really good at it."
On if Orapko reads pass first and reacts to the run or if he is playing within the scheme:
"I think he just plays the scheme. He plays it well. He's smart. [He] picks things up fast. He's one of those guys that when he is on the field for about two weeks of walkthrough he kind of had it. We knew he was going to be fine doing it."
On Andre Carter's progression:
"I think I said this last week or the week before, I think he's really coming on to where he was last year from a pass rusher. He doesn't have the numbers that he had last year at this time but he's got a lot of quarterback pressures, hits. I think the numbers will come if he keeps working the way he's doing. I think he'll get these sacks and the numbers will come."
On if the defensive game plans ask Carter to cover the tight end before he gets up field:
"I can't remember from game to game to be honest with you. This week, no."
On if he thinks Albert Haynesworth has settled into the defense:
"I hope so. We are trying to put him in positions where he can be successful. We utilize him in a lot of different areas. We used him in Nickel, goal line, short-yardage and some other things. Actually, he didn't even know it, I still don't know if he knows it - he played five snaps of nose [tackle] against Detroit. He was awesome. He did a great job. I just sneak him in there once in a while and don't tell him he is a nose [tackle]. I think the guy could be a heck of a player at any of those positions but you have to get some time to work with him."
On Haynesworth's impact against Philadelphia in Week 4:
"I thought he played well that game. He had a lot of pressures. He had a bunch of holding calls. He had some tackles and made some nice plays on the run. Hopefully, we can get that out of him the rest of the year and even more because I think he is at [two] sacks right now. Eight and half [sacks] is the most he's ever had. I think he can hit that point if he just keeps working the way he's working. He's working well at practice and I like what I see from him."
On Ma'ake Kemoeatu's progression:
"I know his shoulder feels better and I think his legs are kind of coming around. I think anytime, especially a guy that's 350 pounds, you miss a whole season and then you come back off of a torn Achilles, it takes time to get back to where you were before you got hurt. He could see he wasn't the same guy early and he wasn't the same guy when we started, but the last couple of weeks I did see the same guy. He had 25 plays against Detroit. He had five tackles and an assist, which is pretty good for a nose [tackle]. If you get two or three tackles and a couple pushes in the pocket you are pretty good. I think he's kind of hitting stride now.”
On Kareem Moore:
"I thought he had a good week's practice. He looks good to me. He's running around. He's been making a lot of plays in practice, kind of the Kareem we saw in the offseason. Hopefully, we can keep him healthy the rest of the way because we need him."
On the best pass rushing outside linebacker he has coached:
"When I was in Pittsburgh, we had some good ones. We [had] Jason Gildon, who's the all-time [leader in sacks in Pittsburgh], Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd, Carlos Emmons, I had Joey Porter, I had Mike Vrable as a backup for five years. I think Brian [Orakpo] fits right in with those guys. Darryl Talley, who I played with, was a heck of a player. There are a lot of good ones but I think he's right up there with all of them."
On the progression of the defense:
"Obviously, they feel a lot more comfortable. You can see it because we react faster, we can make corrections on the fly. I think we are doing a good job of that. It's an ongoing process. People don't realize when you put in a scheme, you're not just putting in a 3-4 scheme. You are putting in a 3-4 scheme, and then you got nickel. Then you have fast nickel, then we dime, then we have fast dime, we got short-yardage, we got goal line, we got heavy. It's not just one package. It's a combination so you are not just learning one. You are learning five or six. It takes time. The 3-4 in the run game has been outstanding. The pass game we are not as good. There are some things we need to fix. Obviously, we got a better understanding in the back end now of what we want. We have played some pretty good teams. A lot plays into it. Obviously your second year into something, your third year, you are better and better at it."
Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan
On the Eagles blitzing style:
“They blitzed us more than anyone has when we played them. They have blitzed a lot of people and some games they haven’t. You never know what they are going to do. Their M.O. has been to pressure in years past and we saw it when we played them. We have to be ready for both.”
On if the Eagles made any notable second half adjustments the first time they played them:
“No, they really didn’t. They brought the same amount of pressure in the second half as they did the first half.”
On why the offense’s second half production was worse than the first half:
“The first half, we had a couple big runs, especially to start the game. [Brandon] Banks put us in good position with his first return. We had two long runs that put us in the end zone. We made a big play on third down when [Chris] Cooley got into the end zone. If you take away a few of those big plays in the first half we weren’t doing anything else. In the second half, they did a better job stopping our run. We didn’t make the plays in the pass game.”
On the Eagles’ run defense:
“They have always been a solid run defense. We had some success versus them last game. I think it had to do with a couple long runs that we broke. It’s rare that you have a real good running game, running the ball down their throats for six yards a play. You’re going to have a bunch of one-yarders, two-yarders. You keep going with it and you get those big runs. We had a couple of those but I think they are doing a better job not giving up the big plays.”
On how much time he spent thinking about the Donovan McNabb situation this week:
“None, none at all. You definitely think about it a little because I got some time off and I enjoy watching football. It was hard to watch football and not hear about it. There is really nothing to think through with him. It is just about being honest with him and getting on the same page.”
On if hashing things out is a natural process between players and coaches:
“I think it’s a natural process for anybody. No matter what you want to do as a coach, you have to work with the quarterback and do what the quarterback wants to do. That’s the way it’s been like since the day I have met him. That’s how it is with every player I’ve coached.”
On the differences between working with Matt Schaub and McNabb:
“I think you can’t ever compare two players because every player is different. When I got Matt out there he had been in Atlanta for three years. I don’t think he was engrained as much in the run system. It was pretty easy for him to not mix things together as much. When you got a guy who has been in the league for 11 years I think you have to relate a little more to the system he is used to a little more than I have in the past.”
On if this slows down the process of putting together a new offense:
“No, it really doesn’t. Where I lose my patience is when we are not doing well on offense. That’s where I have lost my patience at times during games, in the eight games we have played so far. You can’t lose your patience as a coach when players aren’t doing your stuff that means your obviously not coaching right. You have to do some different things or simplify it or do some stuff that they are familiar with.”
On if he is seeing less thinking and more reacting from his players now:
“Yeah, you see it, you see it at times. Everybody knows the plays. It’s about going against a different defense, a different look, an adjustment. It’s not one guy not getting it. It’s one guy this play, one guy the next play. You have to have 11 guys moving together. Talent is talent and everyone has some talent. If you can get 11 guys playing and 11 guys rolling that’s when you guys will see teams where they’re not really sure what’s happening but they have won three games in a row and stuff is clicking. It’s not ever one guy, it’s about guys just feeling it and reacting. You have to play fast and play to your ability.”
On if McNabb is automatic with the terminology:
“It’s definitely not automatic, but it’s not automatic for anybody. It has definitely gotten better since he got here, and it should, we work on it every day. It’s becoming more automatic, but each time you go through stuff, each game it gets better. I expect it to get better through the next eight games throughout the year.”
On if McNabb’s progression reads from the deep ball to short passes:
“That is not accurate in any system. There is no system that every single play is high to low or low to high. Each play is different. It depends on the situation. Each play is different. You call some plays in situations where you are looking things low to high. Then you call something different where you want to go down the field and you start high and they take it away and then you check down.”
On if he would describe himself as patient:
“I think I am competitive. I want to win. I think that’s what we are paid to do. I think I am realistically patient but I am a pretty competitive guy and I should be. I want things now.”
On how feels he meshes with Donovan who is more laid back:
“I have had quarterbacks in the past who are pretty laid back. I think most of my friends would call me pretty laid back. I think it is really hard to be laid when you’re trying to direct a team and trying to get an offense to play professional football and get on that level. I think if I am a little too laid back I don’t think I could be a professional.”
On if working with his dad has been what he expected:
“It worked out exactly how I expected. I expected to come here and be the offensive coordinator. I don’t think I would have if I wasn’t going to be that. He is letting me be the offensive coordinator.”
On the two-minute drill:
“The thing you have to work on in a two-minute drill is crowd noises and hand signals and being able to communicate. I think we know our signals and how to communicate. You don’t put them out doing the two-minute drill that much because it will tire our guys out. I guess there is a chance we might do it tomorrow but it is something you don’t do because you don’t want to kill your guys. You do two-minute plays every single play that you’re out there. That’s what you do when you throw. Those are two-minute plays. It’s just about not huddling up.”
On if Rex Grossman is still the better option with two minutes left on the clock:
“So many things go into a decision like that, that he (Mike Shanahan) made. That is something that he made that moment that had to do with what he saw during the game and through the week. That is a question you would have to ask him. I didn’t know that he wasn’t going to play in that two-minute drill until I was told right before. I didn’t know then so it is hard for me to predict now.”
On if he has to adjust his plan at all if Ryan Torain and Clinton Portis can’t play and his confidence level with Keiland Williams:
“No, it remains the same. With Keiland, we have been with him for awhile. He did a good job in the preseason and he stepped right in versus Detroit and had some real good runs. He did a good job. I haven’t had the experience, I have had Chad [Simpson] out here, but I have not seen him in a game. I don’t really know about him, but if he gets his opportunity, I am confident he can do it.”
On James Davis:
“He looks solid. He did a good job.”
On if the bye week helped the offensive line get healthy and grow together:
“We will see. This is my seventh year, so I have had a few bye weeks and each one seems different. Sometimes the week away is great, everyone rests physically, they rest mentally and come back sharper. I have also been on teams where you have been away for so long you comeback sloppy. We have had a good week of practice so I expect it to be good. We will have to see.”
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