September 18-- No one has any answers

Joe Gibbs admits now that he might do the pre-season differently next time around after the results of the exhibition games and first two games of the season.. He continues to describe the situation his team is in as "inconsistent."

Gibbs says he never considered changing quarterbacks during the Dallas game and cotninues to stand behind Mark Brunell saying he is emblematic of the trouble of the entire offensive unit..
Gibbs was asked if Brunell is "getting old quickly" and he did open the door for some reflection on the overall play of the position saying the coaches are looking at everything in terms of finding out what is wrong with the team..

He spent the bulk of the 32 minute press conference saying there are likely a 1000 different things people could point at as the problem that is plauging his team, but he admits he can't put his finger on it and hopes that ultimately the hard work and character of the locker room will ultimately get the team back on track.. He praised the work ethic of Al Saunders saying the offensive coach continues to work late nights trying to figure it all out..
Gibbs was asked specifically about whether too much of the new offense was installed too soon, he suggested that this is possible, but again was not clear on any reasons why his team is failing to find any consistency..

RB Clinton Portis is day to day with his shoulder which is hurting from a second separate injury to the top portion of the joint.. Gibbs cleared up the perception that the two of them are not on the same page saying Portis has been pulling the media's leg about his status weekly.. basically he said he is telling the truth, Portis is playing games with us..
CB Shawn Springs remains day to day as he continues to recover from abdominal surgery..

Other injuries: DT Joe Salave'a suffered a strained calf, day to day, TE Todd Yoder suffered a mild concussion.. WR Antwaan Randle-EL tweaked his right ankle during the closing moments of the Dallas game but is said to be OK.. T Randy Thomas suffered crmaping in his hamstring late in the Dallas game but blamed the humidity and said he is fine..

Gibbs says the team was informed by the NFL that four separate calls in the Minnesota were mistakes and should have not been penalties against Washington.. Gibbs is turning two more plays into the league questioning the calls during the Dallas game.. The coach did express a lot of displeasure with the penalties from the Cowboys game though saying he made the team watch the penalties to get them to understand "the rules" and how much plays like these hurt the team..

Asked about the offensive line, Gibbs called it the strength of their team.. he said the breakdowns in pass protection are not solely on the line but blamed the backs for some of the trouble and the inability to get the WR's in the right position..
Mark Brunell and Brandon Lloyd said they expect teams to continue to play the cover 2 leaving their safeties deep until the team can prove they can run the ball and force the defenses out of this type of coverage.. basically, the team is blaming the lack of an ability to get the ball downfield on coverage and the inability to have a consistent run game...