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On the last time he saw an offense that runs as much misdirection as Washington:** "Probably (not) since college. Probably about 12 years ago."
On what kind of challenges the misdirection presents to him: "Well, you've got to be disciplined. You've got to stay in your gaps, stay in your lanes and, schematically, everybody's got to be in the same place and be on the same page at the same time."
On whether LB DeMeco Ryans has a leg up on Washington's offense due to the fact that he faced it during practice in Houston: "I think he knows what he's doing because he's seen it all the time. But there's going to be 11 of us out there, so it's got to be more than DeMeco that knows what he's doing. He's got to carry out his assignment, just like the rest of them."
On whether LB Mychal Kendricks has spent more time studying this week due to Washington's blocking techniques: "Actually, Kendricks has seen it in college. They run a bunch more of it in college and he's seen it quite a few times, so he's familiar with it. It's just a matter of staying disciplined, all 11 of us."
On what he'd like to see from DE Vinny Curry to get him to the point of being activated on game day: "I think he's doing everything he can. He's working hard, he's hungry, he's doing a lot of the right things. But you've got six other guys that are hungry also and doing the right things. By game plan and how we see it and how you can bring them up and bring them down, it's just a tough deal because you've got about seven tough players over there."
On whether he believes the defensive ends ahead of Curry on the depth chart are playing well enough to keep him off of the field: "I don't think anybody's playing bad. I think it's going to be tough. I think he's closed the gap considerably and we just have to play it by ear."
On the keys to stopping a mobile quarterback like Washington QB Robert Griffin III: "Well, he can run. He can run and he can he pass. He's a dual threat. That makes him very dangerous. Like you said, the offensive line with the zone scheme makes it dangerous. We've got to be disciplined. We've got to be able to tackle because when he gets outside the pocket, obviously, his speed takes over and he has a different gear than a lot of quarterbacks."
On whether Griffin's mobility affects how the defense will rush the passer: "I think there are times where you're going to have to rush him without worrying about it and then there's going to be times where you have to be under control and understand during situations what you're doing as far as rushing him."
On whether he sees Griffin being less reckless on the field: "I see a great athlete. He's doing the same things he's been doing."
On whether Griffin's running ability makes the defense more likely to play in zone coverage: "Not really. The situation depends on that again. You can't just go into the game saying we're playing all zone because he can run or all man. The situation will present itself to do both."
On the difference in the Washington offense without TE Fred Davis: "I don't think it's much different. I thought (TE Logan) Paulson came in and did a good job and they've got (TE) Niles (Paul) doing a good job. (TE Chris) Cooley's coming back and working his way back into it. They have more than capable tight ends to get the job done. Davis was explosive. The other guys are explosive too, but I think it's just a trust factor with the quarterback as far as him getting to know them. But I don't see them slowing down any."
On DT Fletcher Cox and what he would like to see from him in the final seven games: "Fletcher came in highly touted. He's getting off the ball and he's learning some things and seeing some blocks he hasn't seen before. I just want to see him come out with the same aggressiveness and not think as much and just go out and play football."
On whether there is a common thread as to why the defense has struggled to get off the field on third down: "It's been one particular guy here or there. Either we've got him covered and he breaks out of the pocket, or we're getting ready to sack him and the guy leaves his coverage trying to see something else. It's just a matter of wandering eyes. We've got to keep our eyes on our man and we've got to stay in our lanes when we rush the passer."
On the five-man defensive tackle rotation and how that affects the defensive ends: "I don't think it affects the defensive ends at all as far as the tackles. You kind of rotate them in and whoever has the hot hand kind of gets more plays than the other guy. But I think, because they take such a pounding in there, it's necessary to have them up right now."
On the conditioning of DT Mike Patterson: "I don't know if he has the conditioning to go –I don't think any of them do – a full game if they're pounding you like that and running with the zone scheme. But his conditioning's been good and he'll see some significant time this week if the situation presents itself."
On how the defensive tackle rotation works during the game and who makes the decision on who plays: "We talk about it during the week as a staff and we kind of know going in what dictates who's playing, whether it's run-pass or more run or more heavy personnel as opposed to more wideouts in the game. So, you kind of get the feel that way. We kind of know who's going in as far as that's concerned during the week."
On whether he is still expecting a wave of turnovers to happen at some point: "Yes, I am. We work at it every day. They've got to come in waves. We've been working at it, we're trying to get the ball out, we're going after the ball and we're trying to punch it out. It hasn't happened and I'm very sure it will happen. We just have to keep plugging and working away."
On the tackling issue in the first quarter of the Sunday's game against the Cowboys: "On the first drive, we over-pursued quite a bit. I think everybody was over-pursuing the ball and the ball was cutting back on a lot of things. We kind of calmed down after that and got it under wraps and started wrapping up better as the game went along."
On whether there were missed tackles because the team was feeling a sense of urgency: "No, I just think guys are hungry to make a play and they just have to be under control when they play."
