Skip to main content
Advertising

News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

Gregg Williams Media Session

On how it feels to have the whole starting 11 back and healthy on defense:

"It has been since training camp. That is good. There has been good energy at practice. These past two weeks have been good practices even for the young guys. It has been very crucial for those young guys to get a lot of those reps that they have been getting too, so they can make strides, get ready to fill in or get ready to play when their time is called."

On having both cornerbacks Shawn Springs (#24) and Carlos Rogers (#22) back together:

"It is very good. It is good to see the smiles on their faces. It will be good for you guys to talk to them about that and see what they think about playing with each other because there has been a lot of communication going on out on the field. I think Shawn has done a very good job in the game and a half that he has played. These two weeks it is good to see him get his legs underneath him and be ready to go."

On if having everyone back together allows him to be more aggressive defensively:

"What we do is that every single week we take a look at what the opponent is doing and if they cooperate then we will be that way. That is how it has been since I have been here. The opponent and what they are trying to deploy and what we are trying to do, we just don't recklessly go and do those things. We have it calculated when we go into the ball game with who we are playing, as far as the opponent, who we have up and ready to go with us and also from the packages and formations that they use. A lot of those types of things are predicated once you get into the ball games."

On if there is enough film on Dallas quarterback Tony Romo to game plan for him:

"There is enough film on him from the pre-season. I don't know what that percentage was but Coach Parcells said sometime last week about the number of snaps he took in the pre-season. We will go back to last year's film and all that kind of stuff when you look at the habits and subtleties mechanically that a guy has. He has to function in their offense. He has to do what they want done at that position. He did very well this past game. I was very impressed."

On linebacker Rocky McIntosh (#52) getting reps with the starters recently and how that has been for him:

"It has been really good. Really for the entire season we have been trying to increase his practice reps and get him ready for whatever time we have to call on him. I talk all the time about when the boat sails be on it. You have to be ready to go. These past two weeks he has gotten even more reps in the practice setting so that he is more comfortable and not only for him. It is easy to all of the sudden say, Hey, Gregg go and put this guy in,' but the other guys have to play beside him. They have to get comfortable playing beside him too. All rookies have to go through that. I thought he has done very well on special teams. These two weeks of practice he has had more dedicated time with the top guys. It will be a learning year all year for him but he is coming along well."

On how much having Shawn Springs (CB, #24) and Carlos Rogers (CB, #22) in the secondary will help the pass rush:

"It does help. Coverage helps the pass rush. It is hand in hand. Pass rush helps the coverage. One of the things that we have talked about is that we need to challenge those receivers more so we get a chance for our rush to get there. Hopefully that will work out. We will see."

On if he can put a finger on why the pass rush has not gotten many sacks:

"A lot of it has to do with the protections that we get and the health of our secondary. I really do believe that when our secondary is healthier and plays better in that fashion that it will help the rush. The rush has to do some things to help the coverage in times when we get five and six man protections. We hardly get five or six man protections for whatever reason because people understand that we are dangerous in that area. Our coverage has to do a better job and step up now and give our pass rush a chance to get there. Hopefully with the health of our people right now we will have better opportunities to do that."

On how Carlos Rogers (CB, #22) has played in his second year:

"He has matured in many ways. He is much more comfortable in a lot of ways. The fact that he is able to take ownership and say, 'You know what, there were some plays out there that I know I should have or could have made with my ability.' That is good to hear because that is why we brought him here. We want him to think that way. We want him to do that. To be quite truthful he has good enough hands that if he gets one hand on the ball he should think he should catch it. If he gets two hands on the ball there is no excuse. Those are the things that we want him to do because he can make a difference. He is one of the few guys that we have that can make a difference."

On how big a concern it is to have such few turnovers:

"I have been through it before. We went through it last year for a while too. There have been certain seasons where that has been an Achilles heal that has always been righted. I think Coach (Gibbs) has mentioned it before that where we are measured right now is what it is. You see 2-5 and lack of takeaways but then at the end of the year you will be measured even greater. We just need to get on a role and help our football team in that way. All coaches in the National Football League understand the takeaway and turnover ratio and the importance to the success of a team winning a ball game. That is one of the things defensively that we have to do a good job to help this team. We have to do a better job of taking the ball away. We have had those opportunities."

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.
Advertising
;