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News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

Quotes: Head Coach Jay Gruden, Offensive Coordinator Sean McVay (10-14-2016)

Head Coach Jay Gruden

On the injury report:

"Out will be [Josh] Doctson, Achilles. Questionable: [Jordan] Reed, concussion; [Su'a] Cravens, concussion, [Bashaud] Breeland, ankle, [Dashaun] Phillips, hamstring. Everybody else is good to go."

On if TE Jordan Reed practiced:

"He did not practice today, no."

On Reed's availability for Sunday:

"He's going to see the doctors again and then we'll get a better indication, hopefully this evening."

On if S/LB Su'a Cravens participated in team activities today:

"No."

On if there is any level of concern about Reed playing again:

"Oh, that's up to them [doctors], really. If they say he's OK, he's OK. If Jordan feels OK, then he'll be fine, but we wait and see A) how Jordan is feeling and then B) what the doctors say. Actually, the doctors are first, Jordan's second."

On if WR Josh Doctson's injury status is any clearer:

"Not really, not really. You know, try a different approach and see what happens, send him to somebody new, see what happens. Try to find…get to the bottom of it, see what's going on down there. But, it's been bothersome to him and we've got to figure out what it is. We haven't figured it out yet."

On when Doctson's roster spot would be too valuable to keep:

"Yeah, that's going to be the No. 1 question here pretty soon. You know, fortunately we don't have to worry about it right now. I want to try and keep it as long as we can because if he feels good tomorrow or next week he'll play. You know, he's a huge asset to this football team so we want to give him every chance to get well."

On distributing the ball to multiple receivers including DeSean Jackson:

"I think you want to spread it out. You want everybody to be involved in the offense. I think if you're one-dimensional, one player, I think defenses are very good where they can take away one player, they can double him or roll to him and all of that stuff so everybody has to do their part. Kirk [Cousins] does an excellent job of spreading it around, finding the open guy and you know, we've just got to be patient, receivers have got to understand the ball will go where the coverage dictates and where Kirk decides to throw it and they've just got to continue to run their routes. Balls will come." 

On Doctson not working much with QB Kirk Cousins:

"Yeah, that's another part of it, you know. He hasn't had a lot of practice with Kirk, which is a concern, but knock on wood, we've been fortunate with the receivers as far as health is concerned with the other five and six guys. So, I think we're going to be as optimistic as we can but we also want to make sure we do what's right by him and if it means resting him, it means resting him. But we've just got to get a couple more opinions and see what happens. Get a little bit more time."

On the value of Doctson watching practices or if it is better for him to stay away:

"No, he watches practice, I think. We have meetings and all that stuff, yeah."

On his sense for Cravens' availability:

"My sense is I just wait, see what the doctor says – independent doctor. My sense makes no difference whatsoever, you know what I mean?"

On if Cravens did more today:

"No, he just did individual a little bit."* *

Offensive Coordinator Sean McVay

On how the offense would change without TE Jordan Reed:

"Yeah, you always have to have a contingency plan in place. Fortunately we feel very confident in Vernon [Davis] and Niles [Paul] if they have to step up in his absence. But you always want to try to have contingency plans in place when something like this occurs and we'll have to adjust accordingly. But we'll wait and see what his status is come game time."

On if Niles Paul having to focus more on tight end instead of fullback changes the offense:

"I wouldn't say that just because everybody can kind of stay consistent and true with their role. If it is one of those situations, then Vernon will be asked to play a little bit more, a few more plays in some of our 11 personnel groupings. But it limits a couple of the things we can do and certainly he's one of our best players and you'd love to have him. But it's kind of that 'next-man up' mentality and those guys will be ready to go if Jordan isn't."

On the importance of offensive line continuity:

"Yeah, it's extremely important – their communication, being able to play collectively as a unit. I think they've done an excellent job – both in pass protection and in the run game. Spencer [Long] continues to get more comfortable with his communication, just being able to get things targeted – both in the run and the pass game. I think it's been extremely important – especially against a great front like we know we're getting ready to see this weekend."

On RB Chris Thompson and if they plan on using him similar to how the Lions used their running backs last week:

"I thought the Lions did an excellent job creating some favorable matchups for what they were able to do last week against Philly. They're a defense. Chris is one of those players that we do have a lot of confidence in. He's a guy that gives you the ability and the flexibility to kind of move him around the formation and try to get some of those matchups that you like. But he's a guy that each and every week we'll kind of look for ways to get him involved creatively. Definitely that's something that we look at and we'll see if that's something that will come up on Sunday."

On the dimension that RB Robert Kelley adds:

"Well, I think it's one of those deals where he's gotten more comfortable with the more carries and opportunities that he's gotten over the last couple weeks. I thought you saw him make a great run against Baltimore last week on the 15-yarder where [he] kind of had a 'man'-type play. He cut the defense in half and he did a good job of leveling off. I think he's a nice complement to Matt [Jones]. I feel really good about those three backs that we're really using with the addition of Chris [Thompson]. Rob's a guy that we're excited about. He's continuing to grow and learn as a rookie just like they all are. He's a guy that I think if he does get some more opportunities you'll see that confidence grow as the season progresses."

On Eagles DT Fletcher Cox:

"Well, I think when you look at some of the things that they're doing just upfront as a whole philosophically with Coach [Jim] Schwartz's defense, I think it's a great fit for their personnel. He's excellent – he's one of the better defensive tackles in this league, you can see. He plays the run and the pass excellent. Those guys do a great job of coming off of the line of scrimmage, playing the pass through the run where they're really that 'jet-front'-type deal right now with Coach Schwartz. It's a monster to stop and he's done a great job in both phases, as has their defensive line as a whole, which is why I think you see they're playing so well defensively in all phases and situations. So it's a great challenge for us and one that our guys will be excited about on Sunday."

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