After selecting LaRon Landry with the Washington Redskins first pick of the 2007 draft, head coach Joe Gibbs, accompanied by his coaching coordinators coaches Gregg Williams and Al Saunders, helicoptered to FedEx Field to greet 17,000 diehard fans at the Redskins Draft Party.
Gibbs took a few questions from the festive fans. His responses are laden with coach-speak, but they do contain nuggets of interest to Redskins fans. Along the way, he tries to dispel some public impressions of how decisions are made, and who makes them. Here, as best as I could transcribe them, are the fans’ questions and coach Gibbs’ answers.
Explaining how they select a player: “We came up with the things that we think we had to do to help our football team. It started with free agency. We got two corners, a middle backer. What we are trying to do there, is try and say how do we help our football team. “This draft, what we try to do is make great preparation, analyze the whole field. It’s not one person that picks. It’s everybody together. Our scouts are in the room. Our coaching staff is in the room. We all kind of look at it, evaluate it. Our owner is kept up to date. In a lot of cases he has his input. When we put a grade on somebody, it’s a Redskin grade. It’s not just one person. As a result of that process, we felt like LaRon . . . was somebody who could play here for a long time; make an impact, and be a great Redskin.”
How do we split the ball up between Ladel and Clinton Portis? “I can tell you this, I’m glad we got both of them. I’ll give you an update. Clinton has had his off-season surgery. Our trainers are down there right now working out with him. He’s right on track. So hopefully, we get back a healthy Clinton Portis. Ladel? I can’t say enough about Ladel and the way he played down the stretch last year. Most of the teams . . . that were in the playoffs had two running backs. So, we have two. After that, we have Rock, who we feel like can make an impact on our football team. So, we feel like we are deep at running back. Hopefully, our focus is going to be, hey, we want to give it to them a bunch; wear them all out. That’s our goal.”
How are we going to replace Doc(kery)? “We tried to keep all of our players this year. We lost Doc to free agency. I still think we are the most stable team in the NFL. We lost very few players. We get Smoot back this year. But, we did lose Doc. We got Todd Wade, who’s worked extremely hard in our place. He’s 6-7. We think a very good football player. We made some other choices in free agency. So, hopefully, we’re going to have some people that are going to play good for us.”
When do we get Cooley signed long term? “We’re trying. We want him signed long term.”
What kind of offers did we get for the sixth pick? “To be truthful, most people today were kind of set. They were willing to just sit where they were. A few conversations, but nothing where you would say that people were serious about doing stuff. And so, everybody kind of set in place and made their picks all the way down the line.”
How about Shawn Springs? “I met with Shawn Springs when I was in Phoenix when I was out there for a few days. He looks great. He’s working out. I don’t think he will have any problem. His shoulder’s healing up. So, I think we are all set. I think we are going to be deep at corner.”
A question about Jason Campbell. “Al (Saunders) and the guys have been working with Jason every day. He’s been working extremely hard. He’s been throwing. He’s been working on a lot of technique things. He’s been watching a lot of film. And Mark (Brunell) has been back with him. Mark’s been throwing now. He’s been making about 25 throws about 25 yards after shoulder surgery. So, I think our quarterbacks have been working hard. Jason’s been there working non-stop.”
(Referring to a questioner in the crowd) “The man’s talking pass rush.” “We’re going to have some pass rush. Andre (Carter) finished with a great year for us last year. Phillip Daniels (and) Marcus (Washington) bringing(?) himself from the outside. Rocky McIntosh, I think brings us some speed there. We think we’ve got some guys to rush the passer, too.”
(Referring to a questioner in the crowd) “The man wants to stop running backs.” “I’m with you. We feel like we helped our defense through free agency. Hopefully, our defense will stop the run. Hopefully, our secondary, somebody will do a good job athletically to stop the pass, too.”
The question was how is Sean Taylor going to feel about another safety back there? “He’s got other people back there, anyway. All Sean wants to do is win. I really feel that he will have a good year, ah, an excellent year this year. Goes to the Pro-Bowl for us. And, ah, we’ll (have) a couple of people there, too. So hopefully, Sean’s going to like (LaRon).”
A question about Phillip Daniels: “Phillip Daniels had a couple of things he he took care of. His wrists, both wrists, that we felt like hurt him last year in doing the things he wanted to do. And he had his ankles cleaned out. He’s one of our leaders and hopefully he’ll bounce back . . . .”
Another question about Clinton Portis: “I mentioned that he’s healthy. Had his shoulder fixed. Hopefully, Clinton’s going to have a big year for us this year.”
What is Mr. Snyder’s role in the draft? “It’s very important. He travels with us to meet the players. When we put a grade on someone, . . . Mr. Snyder is one of the guys who sits in the room. I think we’ve got an owner that, I’ve got to tell you it’s absolutely true, he’s never said no to us since we’ve been here. All he wants to do, he will do whatever it takes as an owner (emphasis Gibbs). I think we are some of the fortunate people, one of the most fortunate teams in this league, to have somebody who just wants to win. That’s his desire.”
What about a defensive end? “Second day of the draft, if there’s somebody there, we are certainly going to look at him. There are several spots that we’ve highlighted. There are several players that we’ve already got highlighted. We’ve just got to pray, and you pray with us, that some of them are there. OK?”
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