Jay Gruden Blows It Again Against Cowboys
Jay Gruden heads off the field later the Redskins defeated the Cardinals on Sun. (John McDonnell/The Washington Postal service)
Jay Gruden tried to lose himself in the laughter. He had done his job, guiding his team to a much-needed victory — its showtime in well-nigh a month — and had patiently waited out the suffocating traffic at FedEx Field. Now, all the Washington Redskins bus wanted to do was enjoy a Lord's day night out with his wife, his son Jack, who was in town visiting, and his friends.
Simply fifty-fifty in that restaurant, surrounded by his loved ones and assorted entrees, Gruden couldn't escape more than reminders of this lost Redskins season: The "Lord's day Night Football" game between the NFC East sectionalisation-rival Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders was airing on a nearby TV.
"I just kind of glanced at it every now and then," Gruden said dismissively.
Behind a strong defensive performance, punctuated past Anthony Lanier 2'south two sacks and Preston Smith's 4 quarterback hits, the Redskins held off the Arizona Cardinals for a 20-15 win Sunday afternoon. But while their mood was buoyant, the locker room vibe was understandably muted. At six-8, the Redskins tin finish no better than .500 — and that's only if they close the season with wins over the Denver Broncos and New York Giants.
This is not where Gruden thought they would be. Non with the offseason gratis agent signings of playmakers like D.J. Swearinger, Zach Brown and Terrelle Pryor Sr. And certainly not after drafting defensive lineman Jonathan Allen.
"Then 1 thing happened after another, and here we are," Gruden said softly, shortly afterwards he concluded his Monday news conference.
[Perspective: The Redskins weren't expert. They also weren't a disaster.]
Reclining on ane of the leather couches outside of the Redskins' weight room, he crossed his left leg over the other and considered the failed expectations of 2017.
His face up appeared worn. His eyes fatigued.
Afterward weeks of fielding questions about the mental state of his players, he now was forced to confront how he was belongings upwardly.
"I'm fine right now," he said. "Still a little sick over a couple of the games we let slip through our hands. Wish we had a couple of those back, 'cause we'd be right in the thick of things."
Just like the Cowboys (viii-half dozen), whose playoff hopes remain alive after surviving a scare from the Raiders en route to a xx-17 win on the W Coast on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Gruden's days are at present spent impressing upon his players the importance of playing for pride and for each other.
In some means, this season has morphed into a character-building practise for a roster ravaged by injuries. Finishing eight-8 is the new commonage goal. Just that'southward a far easier sell for players than the front end function, Gruden acknowledged.
"Shoot," he said, chuckling, "I don't know how you can convince everyone that eight-8 has value. I only want these guys to cease strong and have some success at the finish of the year; get a good taste of putting wins back-to-back-to-back, which would exist of great benefit, I think, only moving into the offseason, just for their level of conviction in what they're doing and how they prepare, and that it's the right mode."
[Perspective: If Redskins can get to viii-viii, a bad season tin be pretty good]
A potent finish would also boost Gruden'due south conviction, as well.
Gruden admitted he questioned himself after the Redskins were blown out in back-to-back weeks by the Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers.
"Well, when y'all're standing at that place and getting your ass whipped, information technology'due south very . . . difficult," he said through gritted teeth. "It's difficult to stomach. It'southward hard to accept. And then you've just got to sentry tape, figure out what went wrong, effigy out how to correct it and effigy out how yous want to get ready for the remaining games."
He considered irresolute his practice schedule, his meeting times, how he installed plays — anything that might result in a different outcome on Sunday. He consulted with his coordinators and the rest of his coaching staff, seeking their input on areas that needed improvement. But aside from a small tweak — "Every now and then I'll throw in a period of practice, hither and at that place, just some competitive-type deal," Gruden said — the Redskins' manner of doing things has largely remained the same.
And whether Washington wins its final two games, its offseason will once over again brainstorm earlier than Gruden anticipated. And with that, comes weeks of watching postseason football game. Or not.
"You lot hate to watch football when you're not a function of it," Gruden said. "You hate to sentry the playoffs and Super Bowls and partition championships when you're not a office of it."
He then paused and laughed over again: "Y'all only kind of hope everybody else loses, too."
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/jay-gruden-reflects-on-redskins-lost-season-still-a-little-sick-over-a-couple-of-the-games-we-let-slip-through-our-hands/2017/12/18/8791a992-e423-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html
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