azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Head Coach Joe Gibbs
Was it nice to finally get a win after all of the close losses in a row?
“Yeah, it was really three excruciating weeks there and we went through a lot. I was real concerned about the emotional toll it takes on a team losing so many close games like that but we were able to bounce back and we were fortunate to get a victory. That was good but now our problem is we have to turn around and go play the Cardinals which we are not looking forward to.”
What is your mindset right now?
“Our approach is you can’t really do anything about it. It is over with now and done and our whole focus is on playing the Cardinals. We are not studying the league, where everyone is, or any kind of playoff pictures. We’re really focused on one thing and we really have to try to prepare and do our absolute best. I respect Coach Green and they have a quarterback who beat us last year and is throwing for a ton of yards. We have to do our job and get prepared to play the Cardinals and that has been our approach this week.
What do you see from the Cardinals wide receivers?
“I think leading the league in passing and doing some of the things they do, I know it has us concerned because we’ve had trouble at times with big plays in the passing game. I think it has our guy’s attention and we think their receivers are very talented. They can make big plays as Boldin did last week. We have a lot of respect for them and we have to make great preparation and we’re going to have to play a great game to have a chance.”
How has Mark Brunell done this year?
“I think it was a number of things. He got hurt in our second game last year and refused to come out. He had a hamstring that bothered him the rest of the year and I think that was a problem. I think our football team last year was not very productive on offense and that was my responsibility but that affects the quarterback. I think he bounced back this year and in preseason he looked real good and he has been playing very solid and sound for us. I also think we have some better tools around him also.”
Have you enjoyed coming back into coaching?
“I said last year I enjoyed 6 times and didn’t enjoy 10 times. I think it depends here whether you win or lose. I wouldn’t have given myself a nickel chance to coach again but a series of things took place in our lives and we kept praying about it and the doors kept opening and I made the decision to come back. I certainly don’t want to be sitting around at an old age home in a few years saying ‘I was suppose to do that but I didn’t have enough guts to do it’ so we decided to take another chance at coaching.”
How is Carlos Rogers?
“Obviously we have a lot invested in him and we think he’s a great young guy and we think he is really talented. We made a big pick to get him and I think one of the things that hurt him in the beginning of the year is that he had an ankle injury that bothered him and he kept playing. I think now he is totally healthy and he is playing with a lot of poise and he has made two big plays for us, two weeks in a row.”
Has Clinton Portis turned out the way you envisioned?
“Actually Clinton had over 1330 yards last year and missed the last game of the year. A lot of people look at him and say that was a down year but it wasn’t here for us at the Redskins. I thought he had a heck of a year last year considering we weren’t real productive and I think Clinton is one of the leaders of our team. He was here in the off season and he worked extremely hard. We lean on him and I think he is a real team guy. We definitely think that we got more than we were hoping we’d get when we got him.”
On Cards aggressive play recently…
“In our special teams this morning Danny talked a lot about it. Special teams a lot of times is kind of a study of the other team and what kind of athletes they have. I think they are athletic and I think they’re very physical. When we compare them with other people we’ve played he felt like they’re very athletic and physical. We know on defense they play physical and we’ve talked about their offense. We’re going to have to play our absolute best and we’re going to have to have great preparation this week and this will be a tough game to go out there and play a road game against the Cardinals.”
Has Santana Moss exceeded your expectations?
“Yes, I don’t think anybody would have guessed he would have that kind of impact. Last year we pretty much went through the whole year without having any big plays in the passing game and certainly Santana has give us that this year. I don’t think he has missed a practice. He has a great attitude and he works extremely hard and I think he is really talented too.”
What do you see from the Cards defense?
“We get the impression that they are very aggressive and very good athletes. Adrian Wilson is a very good athlete and he has the combination of linebacker, safety, and is a very tough guy that is extremely athletic. He is all over the place. He leads the team in sacks and he is very aggressive when it comes to rushing the quarterback. They are very complicated in their schemes and they bring a lot of people from a lot of different directions and I think it is going to take great preparation on our part. Not only are they very athletic, and good and physical but they also give you a complicated scheme so we’re having to work over time here.”
Are you a different coach this time around?
“It’s hard for me to answer. I kind of felt like I was starting all over again. The past buys you nothing and so I said I was going to start over and I had to earn my way. To be quite truthful, last year there were a number of first year coaches that did a much better job than I did, Dennis Green is one of them, but there were other first year coaches that did a much better job than I did. I have to prove myself and I have to see if we can do it here and it remains to be seen.”
Do you still work the countless hours you did in the past?
“I think this job is always going to be the same. I don’t think there is a coach up here that doesn’t really have to work hard. I think for four and a half months, I kid Pat that I’m going away to prison. I think all of us, not only the head coaches but the assistant coaches also, the toughest thing in the NFL is there are pretty much no days off in those four and a half months. You’re pretty much going and I don’t think the job will ever change for those who are in it. There is just too much going on. What we’ve done with our week in preparation up here is that we cram something else into it and cram something else into it and now there is nothing left. You’re pretty much going all day long and I think it’s part of the thrill. It’s hard to do and the best people in the world are trying to do it and so there is the challenge. You’re trying to win football games and it is not easy.”
Running Back Clinton Portis
What’s up with your funky presser get-ups?
“I guess it’s trying to keep the team revved up. You know, trying to keep guys at ease, just having fun. Last year was a difficult year for us, there wasn’t too much excitement around here and I guess I took on a different role trying to keep guys’ spirits up, that we have a lot to fight for, and we don’t want our season to go sour.”
Did you not do that before?
“I was just a quiet guy. If you knew me you knew my personality, but when I came in the locker room, I’d do my work and leave. If you knew me outside of here, you knew my personality. I like to play around with the guys, being more involved with my teammates, being more involved in trying to keep motivated, keep things interesting. Because being here, working as hard as we do, you got to have fun at some point.”
Gibbs said you were one of the best team leaders, how does that make you feel?
“Well, it’s a good compliment. But when coaches look at it, it’s easy to go on the field (as a player) and rah-rah, and that‘s what the coaches see. But it comes from the guys. It’s when the guys look to you, when the guys come to you, when the guys elect you a captain. Most coaches think their best players are the leaders, or they tell their guys that when everyone knows that’s not true in the locker room. There is always someone the players would vote for different than the coaches. It’s trying to gain the respect of my teammates hoping they say I am the leader.”
How important was it to win last week after three close losses?
“Hey, five out of the six games we lost have been like that. We just did not put teams away. In five of those six games we lost, we had an opportunity to put teams away but got conservative or didn’t convert or didn’t hold on to the ball. Last week we had an opportunity to put (the Rams) away, and it was a little scary after we had the safety, but the defense hled up and we went down and scored, we converted on third downs, and that’s what we need to do to continue to stay alive.”
Do you know much about the Cards considering you have rarely played them?
“You just have to put on the film. Everyone knows the draft picks the Cardinals have. They have a lot of talented young guys, and once they come together and that team continues to mold, it’s going to be an awesome defense. When you have guys like Rolle and Dansby and Wilson and Dockett, they are only going to improve and it’s only a matter of time when they all play their best game together. Hopefully that won’t be this weekend against us.”
There are a lot of Florida State and Miami guys in this game. Does that make it more fun?
“You have to because those are the same guys you see all offseason. Talking to Anquan, seeing Anquan, having the opportunity to go to my first Pro Bowl with Anquan, those guys, man, they are talented. Coming out of a university like Florida State or myself coming out of U-M, it’s a rivalry. You never want to lose to those guys. Those are the guys you always remember, guys from Florida and Florida State and U-M, guys who played together, probably grew up around the same area. I can remember going to watch Anquan in the state games when he was in high school and he was quarterback. To know how far we came from that moment to where we are now, you still get excited to watch those guys. You just don’t wish the best for them this Sunday.”
You have been in Washington for two years now, do you still feel it was a good career move?
“I think it was a great move in my career. Everybody can stay and be afraid of change. You can stay with one team with one system and not know. If I had stayed I never would have known if my leadership qualities or my role, there was a lot of pressure and a lot of things changed once I left Denver. I became a go-to guy, I became a target, I became the face of an organization. If I had stayed in Denver, who knows what would have happened. But it’s good, change is good at times. This was a great change for myself. It made me grow up, and I think I became a great man, a better man.”
How do you feel about the Broncos now?
“I think Champ is at the top of his game, they are playing pretty good. The defense is good, Mike Anderson and Tatum are having spectacular years, and those guys are doing well. But I can’t worry about them. I’m in D.C.”
What challenges do you see from the Cards’ D and Adrian Wilson?
“When (Adrian) was at NC State, I liked him then. You can just see a guy in a scheme, he is determined to make that scheme work. He’s everywhere, he’s all over the field making plays. You respect him, but at the same time, you have to play your game. He is a great young talent, there is a lot of great young talent there, but you can’t give someone too much respect. You can’t be afraid.”
Do you feel the Cards scheme more than anyone else you have played?
“They start by trying to take away the run. They think they have great young corners in Green and Antrel, and they are willing to leave those guys on an island. They drop Wilson down, they give you fronts and put guys in the box and try to take it away. You just have to go out and play hard-nosed. We know it will be tough.”
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3301
Was it nice to finally get a win after all of the close losses in a row?
“Yeah, it was really three excruciating weeks there and we went through a lot. I was real concerned about the emotional toll it takes on a team losing so many close games like that but we were able to bounce back and we were fortunate to get a victory. That was good but now our problem is we have to turn around and go play the Cardinals which we are not looking forward to.”
What is your mindset right now?
“Our approach is you can’t really do anything about it. It is over with now and done and our whole focus is on playing the Cardinals. We are not studying the league, where everyone is, or any kind of playoff pictures. We’re really focused on one thing and we really have to try to prepare and do our absolute best. I respect Coach Green and they have a quarterback who beat us last year and is throwing for a ton of yards. We have to do our job and get prepared to play the Cardinals and that has been our approach this week.
What do you see from the Cardinals wide receivers?
“I think leading the league in passing and doing some of the things they do, I know it has us concerned because we’ve had trouble at times with big plays in the passing game. I think it has our guy’s attention and we think their receivers are very talented. They can make big plays as Boldin did last week. We have a lot of respect for them and we have to make great preparation and we’re going to have to play a great game to have a chance.”
How has Mark Brunell done this year?
“I think it was a number of things. He got hurt in our second game last year and refused to come out. He had a hamstring that bothered him the rest of the year and I think that was a problem. I think our football team last year was not very productive on offense and that was my responsibility but that affects the quarterback. I think he bounced back this year and in preseason he looked real good and he has been playing very solid and sound for us. I also think we have some better tools around him also.”
Have you enjoyed coming back into coaching?
“I said last year I enjoyed 6 times and didn’t enjoy 10 times. I think it depends here whether you win or lose. I wouldn’t have given myself a nickel chance to coach again but a series of things took place in our lives and we kept praying about it and the doors kept opening and I made the decision to come back. I certainly don’t want to be sitting around at an old age home in a few years saying ‘I was suppose to do that but I didn’t have enough guts to do it’ so we decided to take another chance at coaching.”
How is Carlos Rogers?
“Obviously we have a lot invested in him and we think he’s a great young guy and we think he is really talented. We made a big pick to get him and I think one of the things that hurt him in the beginning of the year is that he had an ankle injury that bothered him and he kept playing. I think now he is totally healthy and he is playing with a lot of poise and he has made two big plays for us, two weeks in a row.”
Has Clinton Portis turned out the way you envisioned?
“Actually Clinton had over 1330 yards last year and missed the last game of the year. A lot of people look at him and say that was a down year but it wasn’t here for us at the Redskins. I thought he had a heck of a year last year considering we weren’t real productive and I think Clinton is one of the leaders of our team. He was here in the off season and he worked extremely hard. We lean on him and I think he is a real team guy. We definitely think that we got more than we were hoping we’d get when we got him.”
On Cards aggressive play recently…
“In our special teams this morning Danny talked a lot about it. Special teams a lot of times is kind of a study of the other team and what kind of athletes they have. I think they are athletic and I think they’re very physical. When we compare them with other people we’ve played he felt like they’re very athletic and physical. We know on defense they play physical and we’ve talked about their offense. We’re going to have to play our absolute best and we’re going to have to have great preparation this week and this will be a tough game to go out there and play a road game against the Cardinals.”
Has Santana Moss exceeded your expectations?
“Yes, I don’t think anybody would have guessed he would have that kind of impact. Last year we pretty much went through the whole year without having any big plays in the passing game and certainly Santana has give us that this year. I don’t think he has missed a practice. He has a great attitude and he works extremely hard and I think he is really talented too.”
What do you see from the Cards defense?
“We get the impression that they are very aggressive and very good athletes. Adrian Wilson is a very good athlete and he has the combination of linebacker, safety, and is a very tough guy that is extremely athletic. He is all over the place. He leads the team in sacks and he is very aggressive when it comes to rushing the quarterback. They are very complicated in their schemes and they bring a lot of people from a lot of different directions and I think it is going to take great preparation on our part. Not only are they very athletic, and good and physical but they also give you a complicated scheme so we’re having to work over time here.”
Are you a different coach this time around?
“It’s hard for me to answer. I kind of felt like I was starting all over again. The past buys you nothing and so I said I was going to start over and I had to earn my way. To be quite truthful, last year there were a number of first year coaches that did a much better job than I did, Dennis Green is one of them, but there were other first year coaches that did a much better job than I did. I have to prove myself and I have to see if we can do it here and it remains to be seen.”
Do you still work the countless hours you did in the past?
“I think this job is always going to be the same. I don’t think there is a coach up here that doesn’t really have to work hard. I think for four and a half months, I kid Pat that I’m going away to prison. I think all of us, not only the head coaches but the assistant coaches also, the toughest thing in the NFL is there are pretty much no days off in those four and a half months. You’re pretty much going and I don’t think the job will ever change for those who are in it. There is just too much going on. What we’ve done with our week in preparation up here is that we cram something else into it and cram something else into it and now there is nothing left. You’re pretty much going all day long and I think it’s part of the thrill. It’s hard to do and the best people in the world are trying to do it and so there is the challenge. You’re trying to win football games and it is not easy.”
Running Back Clinton Portis
What’s up with your funky presser get-ups?
“I guess it’s trying to keep the team revved up. You know, trying to keep guys at ease, just having fun. Last year was a difficult year for us, there wasn’t too much excitement around here and I guess I took on a different role trying to keep guys’ spirits up, that we have a lot to fight for, and we don’t want our season to go sour.”
Did you not do that before?
“I was just a quiet guy. If you knew me you knew my personality, but when I came in the locker room, I’d do my work and leave. If you knew me outside of here, you knew my personality. I like to play around with the guys, being more involved with my teammates, being more involved in trying to keep motivated, keep things interesting. Because being here, working as hard as we do, you got to have fun at some point.”
Gibbs said you were one of the best team leaders, how does that make you feel?
“Well, it’s a good compliment. But when coaches look at it, it’s easy to go on the field (as a player) and rah-rah, and that‘s what the coaches see. But it comes from the guys. It’s when the guys look to you, when the guys come to you, when the guys elect you a captain. Most coaches think their best players are the leaders, or they tell their guys that when everyone knows that’s not true in the locker room. There is always someone the players would vote for different than the coaches. It’s trying to gain the respect of my teammates hoping they say I am the leader.”
How important was it to win last week after three close losses?
“Hey, five out of the six games we lost have been like that. We just did not put teams away. In five of those six games we lost, we had an opportunity to put teams away but got conservative or didn’t convert or didn’t hold on to the ball. Last week we had an opportunity to put (the Rams) away, and it was a little scary after we had the safety, but the defense hled up and we went down and scored, we converted on third downs, and that’s what we need to do to continue to stay alive.”
Do you know much about the Cards considering you have rarely played them?
“You just have to put on the film. Everyone knows the draft picks the Cardinals have. They have a lot of talented young guys, and once they come together and that team continues to mold, it’s going to be an awesome defense. When you have guys like Rolle and Dansby and Wilson and Dockett, they are only going to improve and it’s only a matter of time when they all play their best game together. Hopefully that won’t be this weekend against us.”
There are a lot of Florida State and Miami guys in this game. Does that make it more fun?
“You have to because those are the same guys you see all offseason. Talking to Anquan, seeing Anquan, having the opportunity to go to my first Pro Bowl with Anquan, those guys, man, they are talented. Coming out of a university like Florida State or myself coming out of U-M, it’s a rivalry. You never want to lose to those guys. Those are the guys you always remember, guys from Florida and Florida State and U-M, guys who played together, probably grew up around the same area. I can remember going to watch Anquan in the state games when he was in high school and he was quarterback. To know how far we came from that moment to where we are now, you still get excited to watch those guys. You just don’t wish the best for them this Sunday.”
You have been in Washington for two years now, do you still feel it was a good career move?
“I think it was a great move in my career. Everybody can stay and be afraid of change. You can stay with one team with one system and not know. If I had stayed I never would have known if my leadership qualities or my role, there was a lot of pressure and a lot of things changed once I left Denver. I became a go-to guy, I became a target, I became the face of an organization. If I had stayed in Denver, who knows what would have happened. But it’s good, change is good at times. This was a great change for myself. It made me grow up, and I think I became a great man, a better man.”
How do you feel about the Broncos now?
“I think Champ is at the top of his game, they are playing pretty good. The defense is good, Mike Anderson and Tatum are having spectacular years, and those guys are doing well. But I can’t worry about them. I’m in D.C.”
What challenges do you see from the Cards’ D and Adrian Wilson?
“When (Adrian) was at NC State, I liked him then. You can just see a guy in a scheme, he is determined to make that scheme work. He’s everywhere, he’s all over the field making plays. You respect him, but at the same time, you have to play your game. He is a great young talent, there is a lot of great young talent there, but you can’t give someone too much respect. You can’t be afraid.”
Do you feel the Cards scheme more than anyone else you have played?
“They start by trying to take away the run. They think they have great young corners in Green and Antrel, and they are willing to leave those guys on an island. They drop Wilson down, they give you fronts and put guys in the box and try to take it away. You just have to go out and play hard-nosed. We know it will be tough.”
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3301
