Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett give their thoughts heading into Monday's Week 5 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
Offensive coordinator Sean McVay
On what he took away from the Week 4 New York Giants game:
"It was discouraging that we turned the football over six times and that's definitely something that we can clean up as a staff and get communicated to our players that in some of those situations we got to be smart and understand where the ball needs to go, or what plays that we can get into versus those certain looks and the thing that, you're very disappointed in the outcome, but you're encouraged because they are correctable things."
On how quarterback Kirk Cousins can bounce back from a bad game:
"I think he just plays within himself one play at a time. I think he's been able to do a lot of good things and he's really played about 12 quarters of football. We've talked about it, he's played 10 really good ones and he had two that he knows that he wants back and that certainly isn't going to define him as a player and we're encouraged that he's going to come back and respond positively against Seattle."
On what a couple days off after the Giants game did for the offense:
"I think it was critical. You look at the physical game that we were able to play when we went to Philly and then coming back in a short week against a really good New York Giants football team. Being able to get away, get refresh, come back energized, I think's been really good for our players and the coaches as well."
On Monday night's game against the Seahawks and his thoughts about their defense:
"They're an excellent defense as everybody knows. They play fast. They're fundamentally sound. They've got great players and great overall team pursuit, very well coached, so they present a really good challenge and we're excited about going against them, but we know it's going to be a nice challenge for us."
On Seattle's secondary:
"I think, when you talk about their secondary, they've got four great players on the back end, two of the best safeties in the league. (Kam) Chancellor is a physical player, does a great job in the box and he's a lot better in pass coverage than I think he gets credit for, as well. Earl Thomas has good a range as anybody in the league. And then you're talking about Richard Sherman: one of the best corners, does a great job, he has unbelievable ball skills. I think (cornerback Byron) Maxwell is a very underrated player. Playing with those three great players, he might not get the credit that he's due, but we know that all four of those players and are excellent and we're excited about going against them, and our receivers, I feel like, will respond to the challenge."
On the state of the Redskins' offensive line, how the rest helps the unit:
"I think it helped. Being able to get off when we were a little bit banged up with Shaun Lauvao and Trent (Williams), I think that rest helped those guys. We're hopeful that they'll be ready to go, and if not, then we're encouraged with the depth that we have behind them. We know that Josh LeRibeus got some valuable experience in some of those games and looking forward to getting those guys out on the field and continuing to develop some continuity up front.
On San Diego's success against Seattle and the ability to use the tight end:
"I think they're very important. They're going to be very important in every game. You look at the San Diego game, Antonio Gates is one of the elite tight ends in the league and a lot of those plays that he did make where he's catching those touchdowns are great individual efforts where he's got man coverage, (Philip) Rivers is buying time in the pocket and makes a great throw and he makes a great finish. So, while you're encouraged by seeing some of the success that they did have, you know that it's a challenge."
Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett
On Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch:
"I think he's one of the great running backs in the league nowadays. This guy, he's hard to watch on film because he scares you. He does. He's a great running back. He runs hard. He loves the game. You can tell he's really into it. Besides that, he's got good hands, he can run routes, catches a lot of balls out of the back field. This'll be one of the great challenges for us because this guy, he's one of the best."
On how to go about containing Lynch:
"I don't think one guy's going to tackle him. You got to get off blocks and get to the ball, and it's going to be like a population problem. You got to have four or five guys tackle him, one or two guys don't bring him down. So that's our challenge: get off blocks, stay off the ground, because they do a great job of cutting and our D-linemen have to a great job staying off the ground, and we've got to have all hands on board on this guy."
On Lynch being a violent runner and not minding contact:
"He's the kind of guy that you want to have on your team, but you don't like him when you're watching him just because of the way he runs. He's got a great stiff arm in space, you got to watch the stiff arm, you got to knock the stiff arm down. He runs hard. He can jump-cut. He can do everything. He doesn't just run violent. He can jump-cut, he can stop, he can twist, turn and if he wants to, look out when he wants to run you over. It's a heck of a challenge for us. This'll be fun to watch, us and them. I think we're pretty good in the run and I think they're pretty good in the run game."
On if they have to blitz Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson:
"I don't know. I think he does an excellent job escaping, and you've got to be careful when you're blitzing because if he gets through the line of scrimmage, then there's nobody left. You got to be careful. I think that our guys have to do a great job rushing. You got to be attention to detail when you are rushing, and then you can't be tentative, either. You got to rush. You got to go, but you have to be smart when you do to it, also. "
On adjusting to a quarterback that holds the ball longer:
"Guys have to hold up in coverage. We didn't do a very good job, I think, in the coverage element the last time we played, in the Giant game. Guys have to step up and we got to do a great job rushing this guy."
On if they're similar to the 2012 Seahawks team the Redskins played in the playoffs:
"It's really a lot of similarities in the playoffs and, really, in 2011, the offense is similar. They got some better players and I think when you add (wide receiver Percy) Harvin to it, they're doing some things with him, obviously, to get him the ball because he's so dynamic with the ball in his hands. But the concepts are all the same."
On the fact that the Redskins did well defensively the past two games vs. Seattle:
The one game we won in 2011, a different quarterback, Jackson, was playing, and the playoff game were winning 14-13 with like 6:30, 6:40 to go in the game and everything fell apart. I don't think you can say 'Hey we can play them like that.' I think you play them different just because of No. 11 (Harvin), because of Russell, the way he's doing what he's doing with the ball. I think we have a good plan. The coaches came up with a good plan and we'll execute it and try to do the best we can with it."
On Brian Orakpo's finger affecting his pass rush:
"I don't think it's great. He's a power rusher, a speed rusher, a power rusher, bold of power, and when you can't use it and you can't stick your hand in there, it does limit to it. I think the big thing is, if you get 10 sacks in one game, people aren't letting you rush. We just haven't had a lot of opportunities and the one we had, people are taking advantage of it. We need step up and do a better job rushing."
On Hatcher not being 100 percent and that affecting the pass rush:
"You can come up with a million excuses – we just didn't do a very good job getting to the quarterback the last couple weeks. One sack the last two weeks – it's not acceptable. Our guys, we got better players than that and we'll do a better job."
On Percy Harvin:
"He can do a lot of different things. He's probably their second-best running back, maybe one of the better running backs in the league. He's a great receiver. Really, when he has the ball in his hands, he's a heck of a football player. He can go and snatch it. He can run. He can be a running back, he can be a wideout, he can do a lot of different things for your team. He may be the best athlete in the National Football League."
On Redskins cornerback Richard Crawford:
"I think he's moving a lot better than he was in training camp. I think that was hindering him also in training camp. He does look, maybe he's just fresh, but he does look like he's moving better than he did in training camp."
On bump and run coverage for Redskins cornerbacks Bashaud Breeland and David Amerson:
"They don't have much freedom. If they're going to get up, they're long and lengthy. We like them to put their hands on guys. I think that's what they're made for. Like I said, the last game we didn't do a very good job of that and we'll be better these next couple weeks."
On covering the tight end:
"The last guy kind of surprised us. He's a heck of a football player. You didn't see a lot of that evident on film. In the red zone, you knew you were going to get a fade or a slant, those type of things, the pop pass, but we didn't give him as much credit as we should have in the game. We've played some great tight ends. Philadelphia's got some great tight ends. The kid we're playing this week, Miller's hurt, but I know the kid Wilson is a good football player. He can go out and catch it and run, athletic, so there's no drop off. I think that's kind of the nature of the league right now with tight end."
On if the matchup against the Seahaws is a redemption game:
"I just think as a whole football team, we got to play better. It was embarrassing, the last performance, all the way around, and I think as a football team we're better than that. No excuses, but coming off the Philadelphia game where we played hard, guys were wanting to win, then to get the short week, that had something to do with it. This'll be a good tell for us."
On if they've done anything to help guys' confidence entering the game:
"That's on their guys. They got leaders in the locker room and they need to step up and if that's what they think, we got a lot amount of time that we're here with these guys. We're here all day. We watch film. We're in the meeting room for four hours. They can spend time watching tape and that's more on those guys than anybody else."
On Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson:
"He's still growing. We got a lot of young guys playing on the defensive side. I think they're going to be excellent football players, and I think there's some bumps in the way, but I think Keenan's at that point where you can do a lot of different things with him. We just got to keep growing with Perry and the two corners and a couple other young guys we have, but I think in the long run it's going to pay off for you because they're heck of athletes and guys pick things up fast and they're good football players."
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