Orlando Scandrick ‘really clicked’ with Redskins’ coaches

For cornerback Orlando Scandrick, the decision to sign with the Washington Redskins after 10 seasons of facing them as a member of the Dallas Cowboys had nothing to do with jumping to an NFC East rival to spite his former team.

As he explained on John Clayton and Pat Kirwan on Movin’ The Chains, it had everything to do with how he felt after meeting with the Redskins’ coaching staff.

‘I could care less what’s going on over there in Frisco, Texas’

“Not at all, that’s the last thing on my mind. I could care less what’s going on over there in Frisco, Texas,” Scandrick said of having the chance to face the Cowboys twice per year. “What played a factor in my choosing was a good situation for me and a good system for me, and a coaching staff that I was comfortable with. I really clicked with the coaches. I really clicked with Jay Gruden. I had great conversations with (defensive coordinator) Greg Manusky (and) Torrian Gray, (who) is the DBs coach.

“Part of the reason that I thought it was good was because I have played the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants for the last 10 years of my career, so I don’t think it will be that big of a difference. I was familiar with the division and I just felt like the Redskins were just a good fit for me. It was a team that had a good mix of younger players and a good mix of veteran players. I’m excited about it and looking forward to getting to work here in two weeks.”

‘It’s more of a schematic-based defense and not kind of a zone-based, limiting-big-plays defense that Dallas had gone to’

Scandrick hasn’t yet to see the full extent of how the Cowboys plan to use him. That process won’t begin until the start of offseason workouts. However, he does like what he knows of the Redskins’ scheme.

“They do play different coverages,” Scandrick said. “It’s more of a schematic-based defense and not kind of a zone-based, limiting-big-plays defense that Dallas had gone to over the past year and a half. That was a little bit of the difference in the drop-off in production besides my health. It was just the system had switched from what it was when I was a productive player in 2013. I switched to more of a zone-based defense over the past two years, just with losing (cornerbacks) Brandon (Carr to the Baltimore Ravens) and Morris (Clayborne to the New York Jets) and then having so many young guys, and was playing pretty much exclusively zone.

‘I’m going to go in and compete to be an every-down player’

“One of the reasons the Redskins were interested was because of my versatility. I’m going to go in and I’m going to compete. Obviously, I know that they want me to play nickel for them in passing situations and I’m going to go in and compete to be an every-down player and just prove to them that I deserve to be an every-down player and I don’t expect anything to be given to me.”