Marvin Lewis Press Conference

The two injuries we suffered in the preseason game are Levi Jones and Anthony Mitchell. Levi sprained his ankle. He'll be day to day with that, and then Anthony with a sprained foot. They casted it right away and put him on crutches. The guys who should be coming back this week are Jonathan Fanene (back) and (Greg) Brooks, who will be day to day. Antonio Chatman, Bennie Brazell, David Pollack and Deltha O'Neal will be (medically) released and ready to play. We've had Deltha out because of his hand. We wanted another week for his hand to heal.

How about the run defense?ML:

We played okay on defense and offense. It's a preseason game. We've got a lot of work to do to get better.

Does the run offense need better timing?ML:

No. It's the same thing we do schematically, and within our system we would do it differently had we prepared for an opponent. That's the biggest thing.

Talk about Anthony Wright:ML:

We were pleased with Anthony's performance. He's got to continue to play and do what we ask him to do. He was efficient with the ball. We can be more efficient in ways. We'll keep working with that.

What is Carson Palmer's status? ML:

Carson's right on track with where we thought he would be, or ahead of where we thought he would be. He's doing fine. He and I have discussed the things he's doing and when he's doing them, and we're going to continue with that despite all the outside rumors and influence. Carson's not going to talk about this any more, either. If you have any questions, just ask me about it. He's tired of talking about it. I'm frankly tired of talking about it, but I guess I have to. He's going to move forward and not have to worry about  answering your questions about it anymore.

Does he have to play on Friday night (at Buffalo) to play against Kansas City?ML:

No, he does not.

Do you think he'll play Friday night?ML:

We'll make the decision later in the week whether he plays or not. We have to see how he feels and how the week goes. We feel like he's ready to play and we feel like he's good enough to play as far as his timing. 

Does he have to play in the preseason to play against Kansas City?ML:

Yes. But we're not going to sit here and say this or that.  Everybody wants to pin it down. You're not going to pin me down, so let's go to the next question.

Is it true that you told NBC last week that he needs to play against Buffalo (to be ready for Kansas City)?ML:

I didn't say it with that kind of context. If I did, I'm sorry I put it that way. Carson's doing the things we need him do, and when we're ready for him to play and he feels he's ready to go 100 percent with it, he'll play.

If he doesn't play in the preseason, you don't anticipate him playing in Kansas City?ML:

I wouldn't anticipate him starting the game at Kansas City in that event.

But Buffalo is not do or die for Carson?ML:

No.

Are you and Carson in agreement?ML:

Oh, yeah.

Will you have the same starting QB this week, or will you switch it around? ML:

We don't know who's going to play quarterback. It depends who starts the game. I'm not going to tell you who's going to play in the game and when. It just doesn't help us. 

Is it a Catch-22? Carson wants snaps, but is it a juggling, or balancing act because Anthony Wright needs snaps if he's going to play?ML:

We've been doing it the whole time in training camp. We're going to keep doing it the way we doing it.

Is Anthony progressing?ML:

Yes, Anthony's doing fine.

Why was Matthias Askew released?ML:

He wasn't going to make our football team at this point. So it's better 

to give Matthias an opportunity to catch on with another team. We have some guys who are playing better.

What happen to Kevin Kaesviharn?ML:

He's having some back spasms. We'll see where he is later in the week.

Were you happy with the special teams? You've had an infusion with a lot of young talent:ML:

We were happy with the way our guys covered, and with the way our specialists performed. We have continued to progress there. We obviously have the young guys in the secondary that are competing for jobs, the young guys at running back competing for jobs, and guys like Quincy Wilson, Ronnie Ghent, who have been here. They are at the point where they know how to make this football team, and I thought they stepped up their play, which was great. Along with all the young guys, the rookies, and (Rashad) Jeanty and so forth. And obviously Shane (Graham) and Kyle (Larson) performed their duties very well.

Shayne's kickoffs were nice:ML:

Last year when Shane got hurt, we learned a lot. When he injured himself from whatever he did, overuse or overwork, and we backed off the kicking last year, he got stronger. This year we've taken that approach with both of them all through camp. They've done less work. They do more training during practice than actual kicking, and it's really been paying off for both guys. 

Were you okay with how fast your guys were getting to the football?ML:

I was really pleased with our guys. That Redskin defense, that group over there, is a pretty picture. And that's what it's supposed to look like. I was really pleased with the way our guys played defense.  

What will be the final deciding factor in whether Carson plays? The medical, Carson, or you?ML:

Carson. 

He's just got to feel comfortable?ML:

Yes. I can't get in his skin. He's got to decide. He's got to tell me he's ready to do this, and that's the point.

What are the doctor's telling you at this point?ML:

The doctor's telling me he's fine and he's ready to go. When he feels like he's ready to go, unwrap him. But it's up to him. There's nothing medically, one way or another, that's going to make a difference this week, next week, or two weeks from now. He continues to progress physically. He wants to get in and have that game action. He's looking forward to running, sprinting, sliding and doing all the things you do at quarterback that he hasn't had an opportunity to do as much of yet. So he still wants to do that. We want him to feel comfortable about when it's time. He's doing it in training, but he wants to do it on the football field and feel good about it.

There's no substitute for facing game action. That is the final step, correct?ML:

At some point you have to take that leap of faith and do it. That's what he's looking forward to.

Is that something you are encouraging him to do, or is it when he's ready?ML:

When he's ready. He's got to be the biggest judge of that. Carson is so humble, almost to the point of fault. We know how he keeps things inward. It's just a matter of when he expresses that to me, the desire to do that. Then we'll go with that. The best thing is that Anthony continues to work very hard. It's a difficult situation, not exactly knowing your status, but Anthony has handled that very well. Doug (Johnson) has done an excellent job, too, and is competing to play. He really elevated his play on Sunday night. 

We're looking forward to seeing them both play when they get their snaps these next couple games and we'll see what happens. In both guys' cases, I've got to take my hat off to them for the way they've handled this. They've proceeded as pros and they keep working. It's a tough situation not knowing if and when you're going to get your shot. We knew how difficult it was to add these guys, and now they're seeing why.

I know that Doug was operating against different people than Anthony was, but did Doug earn any more snap opportunities, or is it pretty much the same schedule?ML:

We are going to stay on the same schedule, but we were all impressed with what he did. That's important. You want to impress your coaches. It makes a big difference. We've had different people out there with him, too. He's handled the young receivers out there. He's playing with some guys, Reggie McNeal, who has never played in a game at receiver, let alone an NFL game at receiver. Glenn Holt, and P.K. Sam, who haven't had a lot of experience. Kelley (Washington) has had some experience. He was working with that second group of receivers, which is a little different than the first group who have had a lot of NFL games under their belt. He handled it well, as well as the line and the running backs.