ASHBURN, Va. -- Highlights from Thursday's open locker room session:
A big factor Sunday: blitz protection. Arizona blitzes a greater percentage of the time than any team in the NFL (47.3 percent). “They have a kitchen sink mentality,” tight end Logan Paulsen said. “Everything but the kitchen sink. It’s good for them and bad for them. It does yield big plays, but teams have also burned them by it.” More on this later.
Turnovers were among the topics for defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. They need to generate more pressure to force mistakes, but, he said, “We have to try and get a lead here.” In other words, the more they’re playing from ahead, the more chances they feel will come.
Haslett's favorite phrase Thursday: Skins on the wall. As in, they've done it before when talking about Arizona quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton (neither of whom might play).
A popular guy today: linebacker Will Compton. With Perry Riley ailing, it appears Compton, in his first year on the roster, would get the start. "I have to be confident in myself and not compare myself to others and [thinking], 'Am I going to be better or worse? Is there going to be a dropoff?" More on Compton later, today and then on Saturday for a Getting to Know segment. He's a good interview; you'll enjoy it.
It was a somewhat sparse, but upbeat locker room. Before anyone says anything, it’s typically like this on a Thursday. Even good teams after a loss are jovial late in the following week. But there are definitely one or two players who don’t want to talk right now. However, in truth there wasn’t much difference in previous Thursdays during the season.
Because a lot of topics have long been discussed this week, attention turned to Pierre Garcon’s new restaurant in Ashburn (Spitfire Grill) and college football. To sum up what defensive end Kedric Golston said, those who did not play in the SEC were not good enough to play in the SEC.
