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News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

Archuleta Introductory Press Conference

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HEAD COACH JOE GIBBS ON ARCHULETA:
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"You take somebody who walked on at Arizona State and then a few years later after leading the team in tackles winds up being a first round draft choice in the NFL. A couple of other things I think you need to know about Adam, his workouts and routines are kind of legendary. Everyone you talk to in the league (would probably say) he is one of the best trained athletes in the league. Adam played five straight years with the Rams and of course I kept kidding with him that the best thing that happened to us when we went to play the Rams this year was that he didn't play. I think with Adam you have someone who is extremely versatile and somebody that knows what football is all about. I think you have someone here who is extremely serious about football. We talked about Adam in terms of the way he was trained but also he came here, spent two with our coaches and really went over everything from A to Z. We never talked any business. We did nothing until he felt comfortable with what he heard about how he would fit in with us. It was impressive to say the least."

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ADAM ARCHULETA
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On joining the Redskins:

"I would definitely love to thank this organization, Dan Snyder, Coach Gibbs, Coach Williams and the rest of the staff for providing me the opportunity to look at this organization as a home for me. Defense has been very, very important for me. I wanted to make sure in this free agency period that I found a place where defense was important. It was one of the most prepared staffs that I have met since I have been in the NFL. They come very highly respected and I love watching them play in my last two years that I have been breaking down film. I look forward for the chance to play with the defensive players. I get the chance to play with Sean Taylor. I think we will be a very good tandem in the NFL and we will definitely work off of each other. I can learn a lot from him. I am honored to actually be invited and get a chance to be apart of this great team and where this team is heading."

On if it was difficult to choose Washington with former Rams coach and current Bears coach Lovie Smith in Chicago:

"It was difficult and as a matter of fact it was between here and Chicago. I have great ties and great respect for Lovie. I think everybody knows what kind of relationship we had. I came in here and from day one when Gregg (Williams) called me and we started talking football I knew that Gregg at that point had a great defensive mind. I felt like this was another guy in the NFL that I could really play for and help me get to the next level and make me better as a player. Knowing that the decision between here and Chicago was a tough one to make and obviously I made what I feel like is the right decision. I feel that this team is going places in this league and has a great opportunity to win and I am just fortunate to be part of it and I am very honored."

On what pushed Washington over the top instead of the Bears:

"It was a combination of things. I had played in a cover-two system most of my life. I knew it inside and out and I had great success under Lovie (Smith) and what we did with the Rams from 2001-2003. I knew that defense and sometimes you get pegged as an in the box safety and it kind of limits you in some ways. I knew that I would be successful going back to that system. Then there was a part of me that said well I get a chance here to be in a situation where it is a little bit more creative, would be stretched as a player, there would be more demands on me and I would be able to experience things that I never thought I would get to experience being part of a different system.' I think it was more of a challenge and something that I felt this staff and defense could get out of me."

On what he saw when watching film of the Redskins that made him want to come play for this defense:

"There is no denying that we struggled in St. Louis the last two years on defense so I would look at other teams when I broke down film of who was playing well or who I had heard was playing well. We just happen to have many common opponents where the Redskins defense was playing the same team that we were going to play. I got jealous. These guys were flying around and hitting people. They looked sound. Guys were very rarely out of position. It looked like the guys on the field were having fun and there was a comfort to what they were doing. They always looked like they were in control. Along with the things that I had heard about Gregg Williams and what he has been able to do as a defensive coordinator and his reputation, it was one of the very few teams in the NFL that I admired the way they played defense."

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