Opening statement: "Okay these are the injuries here. The players that will be out are [WR] Kevin Curtis, [LB] Akeem Jordan and [RB] Brian Westbrook. Jeremiah Trotter did not practice today because of knee inflammation when we went in on turf. He should be fine for the game. [CB] Asante [Samuel] practiced today and seemed to do pretty good. Everybody else is fine and practiced.
"We look forward to the challenge of playing the Redskins. We know how much talent they have on that football team and the coaching that they have. We have a lot of respect for them. It's always a knock down, drag out when you play NFC East teams and we don't expect anything different here. Our guys have had a good week of practice and we'll finish up tomorrow with a mock game and get ready for Washington to come in here."
On how Samuel and Trotter are listed for Sunday's game: "Asante is listed as questionable and [Trotter] is likewise."
On what makes Washington's defense so effective: "I think [defensive coordinator] Greg Blache is one of the finer coaches in the National Football League. I had a chance to work with him for a few years in Green Bay. He starts with the front. Besides being a great coordinator, he's also one of the better line coaches in this league. He starts everything with that front and just works from there. Not that they blitz a ton; they pick and choose when they're going to do it. They're just so sound against all your different formations. Very seldom do they have a guy out of position."
On how CB Sheldon Brown performed in practice today: "He moved around pretty good."
On what the situation will be if Samuel cannot play: "He will go."
On T/G Shawn Andrews and his surgery: "I don't know exactly what happened the first time. He is going to get a second opinion. He's going to go down to Dallas and meet with a doctor down there. I guess it will be a third [opinion] because the doctor he is with now is the second opinion and this will be the third opinion. He just hasn't made progress from the rehab and it's not from a lack of effort. He's been very diligent with it and working his tail off. Backs are sensitive things and there are a million different things that can go wrong. They're working through it and we'll go from there."
On whether he'll have a scheduled surgery for next week: "Well, he's going to get the second opinion and then go from there. The only thing I can tell you is he's going to have a second opinion. If he's having a second opinion, then obviously they want to get that opinion. So I don't know about the surgery. Maybe they scheduled one based off of the second opinion."
On whether this has any relation to the T Winston Justice signing: "Those aren't connected. I would have done that anyway. I've said before you can't have enough good ones. Winston is the one playing for us right now and he's done a nice job. I just thought he deserved it. That's what it's all about. Guys work hard, they do well and the organization awards them."
On Shawn Andrews and his tests:"They wanted to rehab to see if the stronger he got the better he got. He hasn't made much progress. For a while there he was doing okay and then he had some setbacks. It just kind of leveled out where his back is still bothering him. They went in and Dr. Watkins did some more tests on him and wanted to get a second opinion. He has a lot of respect for the doctor in Dallas. He sent him down there to have him checked out and we'll go from there. If he needs to have another surgery, then he needs to have another surgery. I think Dr. Watkins wanted to make sure that he was looked at by this fellow in Dallas."
On whether he has to plan ahead for next year because of the injury: "I'm not that far. I'm [thinking about] the Redskins right now and then we'll take care of that. I just want him to get better. We're trying to do everything we can to make sure he gets better. If not for football, then for his life."
On whether he has spoken with Shawn Andrews recently: "I've texted back and forth with him. He seems to be doing well mentally. He's frustrated that he's not getting better. The physical therapist that he's working with out there, her reports back are that he's just working his tail off. Again, it's not a lack of effort. He's trying to get it right."
On how long Jeremiah Trotter has been dealing with his knee inflammation: "Last night it came up. [Jeremiah] Trotter should be okay."
On how the coaches have been preparing the young players on the team: "The coaches have done a nice job. They've spent a lot of extra time with the young guys. There are some good things that come with the youth. They have that energy that they bring and they go one hundred and ten miles an hour whether they're right or wrong. There's going to be a mistake here and there so you have to be patient with it. At the same time, we try to maintain the urgency. When you hire coaches, you want to hire teachers first. That's what we're here to do and I think the guys have done a good job."
On whether it is tough to scout Washington: "I think they're in a similar situation to what we're in. They're banged up a little bit. I don't know how many guys they're getting back. I don't know that. I don't know who practiced today, whether their defensive tackle practiced or their cornerback, I don't know that. We're getting a little help here at this point and I'm not sure exactly where they're at, but they've been banged up just a little bit."
On paying close attention to opposing players who have not played much that could potentially have a breakout game: "You have to go off of college film or preseason film. You have to go off all of those."
On RB Brian Westbrook's exercise routine this week: "[RB Brian Westbrook] did okay. I'm not going to say it's great, but it was okay. He felt pretty good. I mentioned the headache that he had. For the most part, he's been alright. I haven't talked to him today. We'll see how he did last night."
On LB Akeem Jordan's timetable: "We took [LB Akeem Jordan] out and worked him out. He's getting closer. There's a chance possibly for next week so we'll see how he does here throughout the weekend and such."
On Washington and its ability to pose a threat: "They went into that Dallas game and they had every right to win that game right there. You put that film on and you figure it out. It doesn't take long to know that they have talent and they play hard and they have good schemes; on both sides of the ball and special teams. It's an NFC East opponent which makes it even that much more. They're rival games and it really doesn't matter. You can get out there and it can be a bloody nose fight."
