Jack Del Rio Presser: I like the way Cody Barton prepares and competes and I think he’ll continue to get better

Washington’s defensive coordinator and players talk to the media after practice

Jack Del Rio

Emmanuel Forbes:

I’m just going to say it hasn’t gone the way he would like or we would like. So, we’ll just keep working at it. I believe in the young man. He’s obviously had a rough start, hasn’t been as productive as we’d like him to be, and I know how much he’d like to be himself. So, just got to keep working, that’s what you do in this business, there’s no shortcut, there’s no easy way out, you just have to work and that’s what we want him to do.

Forbes’ confidence:

Well, you can’t really save anybody with words. It just comes down to working. I think you build confidence through your preparation and through your practice habits and those types of things. So, that’s what we’ll stress and look to continue to build confidence in all of our guys.

Percy Butler/Quan Martin:

Yeah, step up. They get an opportunity. That’s really what happens. Really unfortunate injuries. DFo’s a great member of this squad and Reavo as well, we’ll miss those guys. When those things happen and they do in this game, it’s next man up and they get an opportunity to show what they’re capable of and the team’s counting on them.

Slow starts:

Not because I didn’t stress it. I mean, you look to do it and then you got to go out and you execute. That’s the whole deal, you put your plan together, you work on different things, you stress different things, and then you go out to compete. It’s there, we basically stick our necks out and when it goes well, we’re excited and we move on to the next one. When it doesn’t go well, we’re disappointed and pissed and those kind of things, but the reality is you have to move on to the next one, so that’s where we are. We’re moving on in our preparation, in our focus. It can’t be whether it was really good or really bad, It cannot remain on what was. It has to go forward and that’s where we are right now.

Is there a common thread over the last four years of not being able to start fast?:

No. If there was a common thread, I’d get right to it. Each year is a new year, each team is a new team. We will continue to teach and develop and adjust and fight and I take great pride in that. We’ll continue to teach with great attitude, great positivity and want to have a great positive impact on our guys and then go let it rip on Sunday’s. That’s what we’re about.

Is stressing turnovers unintentionally leading to more explosive plays?:

I don’t know if I would say that. I think certainly, it does happen where guys try to do more than just their job. A big challenge this week, Coach put forth, everybody just do your job. So yeah, I mean, I think guys, it’s not from like a lack of caring, it’s not from a lack of want to. Guys definitely want to impact this team in a positive way. We as a defense want to help the football team in any way we can. I think those kinds of things are natural human reactions. We just have to make sure we’re on top of our assignment, our job, and building that confidence that we’re talking about. Then, we’ll play much better and have more fun.

Falcons offense:

Well, everything revolves around the running game. They do a really good job with it. They’ve got a good line, very good backs, and good design. So, that’s where it all starts. But then Ridder has played well and he’s getting the ball out of his hands much quicker. It looks like it’s obviously an emphasis for him and so we need to be ready for that and match that.

Why hasn’t Quan Martin played a defensive snap?:

Just depth at that position. No hesitation. Obviously, he’ll be involved now and I look forward to watching him play.

Cody Barton:

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Chase Young

Fixing the defense:

Accountability:

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Benjamin St-Juste

Do your job: