shaneo69
10-10-2005, 08:12 PM
Q&A with COACH VERMEIL
Oct 10, 2005, 6:22:23 PM
Q: How did Eric Warfield work out there today?
D. VERMEIL: “I didn’t watch him specifically but he worked mainly as a scout team service corner. We’ll work him in for a few reps each day in getting him ready to play. But I don’t know if he’ll be ready to play many snaps this weekend. It was nice to have both him and John Welbourn back because they add depth and they’re quality football players.”
Q: When realistically do you think you can get him back in the lineup playing significant time?
VERMEIL: “I’m not going to say because, first off, it’s just not automatic that we’re going to put Dexter McCleon on the bench. Dexter’s done a pretty good job and especially in the last ball game against good competition. You’re never too sure a corner’s really ready to go and it’s sort of a risky position to put him out there. It isn’t automatic. It does allow us some flexibility to have him back.”
Q: What about Welbourn? He’s a backup already, but does he have to work his way back?
VERMEIL: “It’s a little bit different on the offensive line. Everything’s there in front of you. Some guy doesn’t have a 10 yard run at you before he decides where he’s going to go. So, we’ll work John both at guard and tackle. I don’t know if he’ll be active this Sunday. It depends on our roster as we go. We’ll have him ready to go as soon as we can. We’ll be in pads Wednesday and give him some good work and it’ll be good for Willie Roaf, too, because Willie worked good today but we weren’t in pads today.”
Q: Is it automatic that Willie will play on Sunday?
VERMEIL: “Yeah, Willie Roaf will play on Sunday.”
Q: What’s the status of Kevin Sampson who was hospitalized back East this past weekend?
VERMEIL: “They’re just doing some further examination because they want to make sure.”
Q: What happened to Sampson? Was it an asthma attack?
VERMEIL: “I think it was a combination of things. I know when he’s been here a couple of times he’s had dehydration problems. We’ve given him some fluids – two bags one day after practice. So, he’s just one of those guys who dehydrates easily. They’re being cautious with him. Hopefully, we’ll see him tomorrow but if not it’ll be the next day.”
Q: Does that mean Jordan Black goes on the right side (tackle)?
VERMEIL: “Jordan Black will go on the right side right now.”
Q: Do you expect he’ll start on Sunday or do you have a guess on Sampson?
VERMEIL: “Our best bet is to assume that Jordan Black will start at right tackle. That’s the best way to go right now. Now, if all of a sudden Wednesday (Sampson) steps back on the field and he’s ready to go, then it’ll be fine. I kind of think it’ll be hard to make that big a turnaround in one or two days.”
Q: You’ve had a chance to step back and look at the first four games. What have you found that you could have done better and what are some things you’re looking forward to Sunday against Washington?
VERMEIL: “Offensively the staff went through all the different departments: the Red Zone, the third down, the goal line, the short yardage – all the plusses and minuses of what we’ve been doing. I think we’ve determined certain things we’ve got to do better and certain players who have to do it better and we as coaches have to do it better.
“Defensively, (coaches) done the same thing in evaluating the schemes and where our breakdowns are and why and what we can do to correct them.
“And that’s one reason why we gave the players a little more time off so we could spend more time doing really constructive evaluation work.
“A lot of our breakdowns on defense are just little things. Of course, little things get you beat if they add up to too many things. We felt at the end of (last) weekin evaluating defense that we’ve come quite a ways and have a ways to go. But we like the direction we’re going in.
“Offensively, we know we’ve got to do a better job on third down and we’ve got to do a better job in pass protection. The addition of the experienced tackle back (Willie Roaf) is going to help us and add some security and confidence there. Hopefully, we’ll one day be able to get our offensive line back together again on the same side.
“We really did a thorough job – both coordinators and myself – evaluating where we are and what we have to do.”
Q: How much did the missing pieces hurt you over the first four games?
VERMEIL: “I’m not going to make any excuses about it. We had every opportunity to beat a very good football team here and we turned it over four times and ended up minus two. That eliminated any chance of beating a good football team.
“We found a way to beat Oakland in Oakland which we could have lost. We definitely dominated the opener. But there are things we have to do better and most of those players that played in those wins played in our two losses. We have to make sure those in backup roles can play as well as our starters when they have to. I know this: we have more experience in the offensive line than we’ve ever had. I think you’ll see that Will Shields will continue to get better and regain his mid-season form of a year ago, which he’s working his way back to right now not having been through the OTA’s and mini-camp and training camp. I think a lot of things in the offensive line will be better but it’s not any one thing.”
Q: Are you still set on your running back rotation of Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson?
VERMEIL: “I think we are but we talked a lot about that. There are some positives and negatives but there’s only one way to get Larry in the ballgame and that’s put him in. When you do it and how you do it, you have to have some kind of a system and we think we have a pretty good system. That doesn’t mean as we go along we won’t improvise it.”
Q: With the way it goes now will you stick with whoever has the hot hand?
VERMEIL: “No, I’ve never said I would do that. Right now, unless we change between now and Sunday we’ll stay with the rotation.”
Q: Is there a chance that Eric Warfield won’t be active this Sunday?
VERMEIL: “I don’t know. There’s a slim chance he won’t be active.”
Q: Is there a chance you’ll dress five at corner?
VERMEIL: “There’s a chance we could, yes.”
Q: Has Dexter McCleon exceeded your expectations?
VERMEIL: “No, I’ve always had confidence in Dexter McCleon. I’ve always had it. He’s playing pretty well right now and has worked very hard to get where he is. He’s back healthy this year, but I’ve always expected him to play well enough for us to win. He did it twice. We didn’t lose because of him in the other two (games).”
Q: Why is he playing better than last year?
VERMEIL: “Because he was hurt last year, he had other muscle strains. We’re playing our corners more conservatively than we did last year, not as much press man, more zone and more variations. I think it’s taken some pressure off him.”
Q: The Redskins are a very defensive minded team and you’ve faced some tough defenses in Denver and Philadelphia. How do you think the Redskins defense compares?
VERMEIL: “Every bit as tough. Very, very physical. They play very hard and play as hard as any team we’ve played. That’s a great tribute to their defensive coaches and coach Gibbs. They’re very physical inside, big and strong guys.
“They’ve won three games by six points and lost one by two. Last year three teams scored 21 points or more on them and that’s it. They gave up 16.6 points a game last year for the season. They’re ranked, I think, number eight on total offense right now. They jumped up in that category. So, they’re getting better.”
Q: Do you wish Joe Gibbs would go back to NASCAR?
VERMEIL: “No, he’s a great football coach. I’ve known him for a long time and have tremendous respect for him. He’s got his young son who was a fine linebacker at Stanford coaching with him there. It’s a great experience for him, I’m sure. They’re getting better.”
Q: Is Warfield going to have to earn whatever playing time he gets down the line?
VERMEIL: “It’s hard to earn spots on the practice field. It’s not training camp. You’re always preparing game plans and every rep a player gets is against an opposing offensive play. You evaluate your players at that time but you’re getting them ready to play. You just gradually give him reps and see how he works his way back into it. But it’ll take him some time.”
Q: You lost Fox today (to IR) but got Roaf, Warfield and Welbourn back. Do you feel more whole than you have all year?
VERMEIL: “I do. Now if we could get the Sampson thing straightened out I’d really feel good about it. But we’re physically stronger right now than we’ve been at any time this year.”
Q: Do you expect Sampson back on the practice field Wednesday?
VERMEIL: “I would expect to but I’m not a doctor and our doctors haven’t seen all the reports and evaluations. There are all kinds of things you have to do to get the release of medical records. It’s not like everybody’s here in Kansas City.”
Q: Is Keyaron Fox having surgery?
VERMEIL: “No, he’s not going to have surgery. But it’s a process to rehab that properly and it’s just going to take him time and patience. This way by being on IR he’s not forced into being ready in 10 weeks to play. I think by the end of the season he would be ready to play.”
Q: You’ve heard nothing about Sampson that says this threatens his ability to play football in the future?
VERMEIL: “No, I haven’t.”
Q: What about Ryan Sims?
VERMEIL: “Well, they’ve changed his cast today and he’s gone through a different rehab and evaluation. We’re just going to proceed and see how that foot responds. If it continues to go well then there’s a chance we could get him back. If not, then they would go and operate on him but that’s up to the doctors.”
Q: How important is it going to be for your offense to get Tony Gonzalez more involved?
VERMEIL: “He’s two passes less involved this year than he was last year after four ball games. So, if we did everything the same he’d have 100 receptions which I kind of doubt he will. That’s only happened one time in the history of the National Football League. But I’d like to get him more involved and he’d like to be more involved. But there’s a lot of things that control those variables.”
Q: But you still think he’s the same impact player?
VERMEIL: “Oh yes. He’s the best there is at that position in the National Football League.”
Q: Do you remember the last time you coached against Joe Gibbs?
VERMEIL: “I got beat, I think maybe in overtime. No, it might have been when we dropped a field goal snap. We had a chance to win the game. I know I lost to him three times. He came to Washington in 1981 and we were out of our Super Bowl but we were still a good football team. We gave him his first win when they were struggling so he owes me something.”
Q: What stands out about those teams he coached?
VERMEIL: “They were always a team that was balanced: they were going to run and throw. They were going to shift and move; they were going down field on play action; they were going to run the counter-gap; and they were always going to have that style of offense. They were always going to be patient, weren’t going to try and beat you all in one quarter. I think Richie Pettibone was running the defense at that time, if I remember right.
Q: Do you look at video of his team now and see those same qualities?
VERMEIL: “See some of them, you bet. You can see it. You know he has some of his old coaches there.”
Q: He still loves the tight end?
VERMEIL: “The tight end in his offense always was the H-back more than the tight end.”
Q: It’s been a lot of years since you coached in that division but those were some nasty rivalries weren’t they?
VERMEIL: “I can tell you a lot of stories about playing the Redskins. I think it took us four years to beat ‘em in Washington, DC. I believe it was 28-0. But they had George Allen, then Jack Pardee after George.”
Q: Did Joe talk to you for advice before or after he thought about coming back?
VERMEIL: “No, but he talked to me later. I really don’t remember what it was. But I know Joe pretty well and respect him.”
Oct 10, 2005, 6:22:23 PM
Q: How did Eric Warfield work out there today?
D. VERMEIL: “I didn’t watch him specifically but he worked mainly as a scout team service corner. We’ll work him in for a few reps each day in getting him ready to play. But I don’t know if he’ll be ready to play many snaps this weekend. It was nice to have both him and John Welbourn back because they add depth and they’re quality football players.”
Q: When realistically do you think you can get him back in the lineup playing significant time?
VERMEIL: “I’m not going to say because, first off, it’s just not automatic that we’re going to put Dexter McCleon on the bench. Dexter’s done a pretty good job and especially in the last ball game against good competition. You’re never too sure a corner’s really ready to go and it’s sort of a risky position to put him out there. It isn’t automatic. It does allow us some flexibility to have him back.”
Q: What about Welbourn? He’s a backup already, but does he have to work his way back?
VERMEIL: “It’s a little bit different on the offensive line. Everything’s there in front of you. Some guy doesn’t have a 10 yard run at you before he decides where he’s going to go. So, we’ll work John both at guard and tackle. I don’t know if he’ll be active this Sunday. It depends on our roster as we go. We’ll have him ready to go as soon as we can. We’ll be in pads Wednesday and give him some good work and it’ll be good for Willie Roaf, too, because Willie worked good today but we weren’t in pads today.”
Q: Is it automatic that Willie will play on Sunday?
VERMEIL: “Yeah, Willie Roaf will play on Sunday.”
Q: What’s the status of Kevin Sampson who was hospitalized back East this past weekend?
VERMEIL: “They’re just doing some further examination because they want to make sure.”
Q: What happened to Sampson? Was it an asthma attack?
VERMEIL: “I think it was a combination of things. I know when he’s been here a couple of times he’s had dehydration problems. We’ve given him some fluids – two bags one day after practice. So, he’s just one of those guys who dehydrates easily. They’re being cautious with him. Hopefully, we’ll see him tomorrow but if not it’ll be the next day.”
Q: Does that mean Jordan Black goes on the right side (tackle)?
VERMEIL: “Jordan Black will go on the right side right now.”
Q: Do you expect he’ll start on Sunday or do you have a guess on Sampson?
VERMEIL: “Our best bet is to assume that Jordan Black will start at right tackle. That’s the best way to go right now. Now, if all of a sudden Wednesday (Sampson) steps back on the field and he’s ready to go, then it’ll be fine. I kind of think it’ll be hard to make that big a turnaround in one or two days.”
Q: You’ve had a chance to step back and look at the first four games. What have you found that you could have done better and what are some things you’re looking forward to Sunday against Washington?
VERMEIL: “Offensively the staff went through all the different departments: the Red Zone, the third down, the goal line, the short yardage – all the plusses and minuses of what we’ve been doing. I think we’ve determined certain things we’ve got to do better and certain players who have to do it better and we as coaches have to do it better.
“Defensively, (coaches) done the same thing in evaluating the schemes and where our breakdowns are and why and what we can do to correct them.
“And that’s one reason why we gave the players a little more time off so we could spend more time doing really constructive evaluation work.
“A lot of our breakdowns on defense are just little things. Of course, little things get you beat if they add up to too many things. We felt at the end of (last) weekin evaluating defense that we’ve come quite a ways and have a ways to go. But we like the direction we’re going in.
“Offensively, we know we’ve got to do a better job on third down and we’ve got to do a better job in pass protection. The addition of the experienced tackle back (Willie Roaf) is going to help us and add some security and confidence there. Hopefully, we’ll one day be able to get our offensive line back together again on the same side.
“We really did a thorough job – both coordinators and myself – evaluating where we are and what we have to do.”
Q: How much did the missing pieces hurt you over the first four games?
VERMEIL: “I’m not going to make any excuses about it. We had every opportunity to beat a very good football team here and we turned it over four times and ended up minus two. That eliminated any chance of beating a good football team.
“We found a way to beat Oakland in Oakland which we could have lost. We definitely dominated the opener. But there are things we have to do better and most of those players that played in those wins played in our two losses. We have to make sure those in backup roles can play as well as our starters when they have to. I know this: we have more experience in the offensive line than we’ve ever had. I think you’ll see that Will Shields will continue to get better and regain his mid-season form of a year ago, which he’s working his way back to right now not having been through the OTA’s and mini-camp and training camp. I think a lot of things in the offensive line will be better but it’s not any one thing.”
Q: Are you still set on your running back rotation of Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson?
VERMEIL: “I think we are but we talked a lot about that. There are some positives and negatives but there’s only one way to get Larry in the ballgame and that’s put him in. When you do it and how you do it, you have to have some kind of a system and we think we have a pretty good system. That doesn’t mean as we go along we won’t improvise it.”
Q: With the way it goes now will you stick with whoever has the hot hand?
VERMEIL: “No, I’ve never said I would do that. Right now, unless we change between now and Sunday we’ll stay with the rotation.”
Q: Is there a chance that Eric Warfield won’t be active this Sunday?
VERMEIL: “I don’t know. There’s a slim chance he won’t be active.”
Q: Is there a chance you’ll dress five at corner?
VERMEIL: “There’s a chance we could, yes.”
Q: Has Dexter McCleon exceeded your expectations?
VERMEIL: “No, I’ve always had confidence in Dexter McCleon. I’ve always had it. He’s playing pretty well right now and has worked very hard to get where he is. He’s back healthy this year, but I’ve always expected him to play well enough for us to win. He did it twice. We didn’t lose because of him in the other two (games).”
Q: Why is he playing better than last year?
VERMEIL: “Because he was hurt last year, he had other muscle strains. We’re playing our corners more conservatively than we did last year, not as much press man, more zone and more variations. I think it’s taken some pressure off him.”
Q: The Redskins are a very defensive minded team and you’ve faced some tough defenses in Denver and Philadelphia. How do you think the Redskins defense compares?
VERMEIL: “Every bit as tough. Very, very physical. They play very hard and play as hard as any team we’ve played. That’s a great tribute to their defensive coaches and coach Gibbs. They’re very physical inside, big and strong guys.
“They’ve won three games by six points and lost one by two. Last year three teams scored 21 points or more on them and that’s it. They gave up 16.6 points a game last year for the season. They’re ranked, I think, number eight on total offense right now. They jumped up in that category. So, they’re getting better.”
Q: Do you wish Joe Gibbs would go back to NASCAR?
VERMEIL: “No, he’s a great football coach. I’ve known him for a long time and have tremendous respect for him. He’s got his young son who was a fine linebacker at Stanford coaching with him there. It’s a great experience for him, I’m sure. They’re getting better.”
Q: Is Warfield going to have to earn whatever playing time he gets down the line?
VERMEIL: “It’s hard to earn spots on the practice field. It’s not training camp. You’re always preparing game plans and every rep a player gets is against an opposing offensive play. You evaluate your players at that time but you’re getting them ready to play. You just gradually give him reps and see how he works his way back into it. But it’ll take him some time.”
Q: You lost Fox today (to IR) but got Roaf, Warfield and Welbourn back. Do you feel more whole than you have all year?
VERMEIL: “I do. Now if we could get the Sampson thing straightened out I’d really feel good about it. But we’re physically stronger right now than we’ve been at any time this year.”
Q: Do you expect Sampson back on the practice field Wednesday?
VERMEIL: “I would expect to but I’m not a doctor and our doctors haven’t seen all the reports and evaluations. There are all kinds of things you have to do to get the release of medical records. It’s not like everybody’s here in Kansas City.”
Q: Is Keyaron Fox having surgery?
VERMEIL: “No, he’s not going to have surgery. But it’s a process to rehab that properly and it’s just going to take him time and patience. This way by being on IR he’s not forced into being ready in 10 weeks to play. I think by the end of the season he would be ready to play.”
Q: You’ve heard nothing about Sampson that says this threatens his ability to play football in the future?
VERMEIL: “No, I haven’t.”
Q: What about Ryan Sims?
VERMEIL: “Well, they’ve changed his cast today and he’s gone through a different rehab and evaluation. We’re just going to proceed and see how that foot responds. If it continues to go well then there’s a chance we could get him back. If not, then they would go and operate on him but that’s up to the doctors.”
Q: How important is it going to be for your offense to get Tony Gonzalez more involved?
VERMEIL: “He’s two passes less involved this year than he was last year after four ball games. So, if we did everything the same he’d have 100 receptions which I kind of doubt he will. That’s only happened one time in the history of the National Football League. But I’d like to get him more involved and he’d like to be more involved. But there’s a lot of things that control those variables.”
Q: But you still think he’s the same impact player?
VERMEIL: “Oh yes. He’s the best there is at that position in the National Football League.”
Q: Do you remember the last time you coached against Joe Gibbs?
VERMEIL: “I got beat, I think maybe in overtime. No, it might have been when we dropped a field goal snap. We had a chance to win the game. I know I lost to him three times. He came to Washington in 1981 and we were out of our Super Bowl but we were still a good football team. We gave him his first win when they were struggling so he owes me something.”
Q: What stands out about those teams he coached?
VERMEIL: “They were always a team that was balanced: they were going to run and throw. They were going to shift and move; they were going down field on play action; they were going to run the counter-gap; and they were always going to have that style of offense. They were always going to be patient, weren’t going to try and beat you all in one quarter. I think Richie Pettibone was running the defense at that time, if I remember right.
Q: Do you look at video of his team now and see those same qualities?
VERMEIL: “See some of them, you bet. You can see it. You know he has some of his old coaches there.”
Q: He still loves the tight end?
VERMEIL: “The tight end in his offense always was the H-back more than the tight end.”
Q: It’s been a lot of years since you coached in that division but those were some nasty rivalries weren’t they?
VERMEIL: “I can tell you a lot of stories about playing the Redskins. I think it took us four years to beat ‘em in Washington, DC. I believe it was 28-0. But they had George Allen, then Jack Pardee after George.”
Q: Did Joe talk to you for advice before or after he thought about coming back?
VERMEIL: “No, but he talked to me later. I really don’t remember what it was. But I know Joe pretty well and respect him.”