Written by Gene Wang at Washington Post.com
Washington Redskins Coach Jay Gruden offered plenty of support for cornerback Josh Norman on Monday afternoon, the day after the prized free agent addition expressed great displeasure over being called for five penalties in a 27-all tie against the Cincinnati Bengals in London.
Norman directed his vitriol Sunday after the game at side judge Brad Freeman, saying, “He sucked. I got to be honest with you.” Four of the penalties assessed to Norman were for hands to the face. The other penalty was pass interference.
“He can’t be any more targeted [by officials] than he was yesterday, that’s for sure,” Gruden said. “Josh is his own man, and he really speaks his mind, and he felt strongly about the way he felt, and he put it out there. He was frustrated after the game. It’s one thing to have one or two calls, but he had quite a few on him that could have gone either way, quite frankly.
“It’s going to be hard to put a filter on Josh. He’s very passionate about the game. He’s a great player. I love his energy. I love what he brings to this football team. He’s one of the greatest competitors on this team that I’ve seen in a long time, and I will not take that away from him.”
Gruden also addressed an offensive pass interference call against Pierre Garcon in overtime that was the last of 15 penalties called against Washington. The veteran wide receiver was running a slant pattern with cornerback Adam Jones defending, but officials ruled Garcon pushed off to gain enough separation to make the catch.
Replays, however, appeared to show Jones retreating on his own. The penalty proved costly because it moved the Redskins well out of field goal range.
Gruden, meanwhile, could be seen on the sideline pleading his case to officials.
“It’s something that we have to address with our team. We had a lot of penalties,” Gruden said. “I think we gave them eight first downs via penalty. After watching the film, I don’t know. Some of them were not very blatant, that’s for sure. Some of the glancing hits to the face mask on A.J. Green, I don’t understand them. There was no intent to injure.
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