Gruden wants reinstated Brandon Meriweather to 'bring the funk'

Maybe they’re not Batman and Robin or any other dynamic duo you can think of. After all, Ryan Clark and Brandon Meriweather haven’t yet lined up on the field together for a regular season game. But now that Meriweather has served his two-game suspension for repeated violations of the NFL’s safety rules, Redskins coach Jay Gruden is excited to get both of his team’s starting safeties onto the field.

“It’s another guy to communicate, another guy to help handle the defense,” said Gruden. “Ryan Clark has done a great job of holding the fort down. Now you throw another guy out there who knows the defense inside and out and can communicate with the linebackers and the defensive line and they really play well together. You can see that all through training camp.”

And Gruden likes more than the communication aspect of the two safeties playing together. He likes the fact that the middle of the field might be a very inhospitable place for opposing receivers.

“[Meriweather is] another physical presence to our defense,” said Gruden. “You throw Ryan Clark out there and Brandon Meriweather out there, two guys that’ll bring the funk so to speak, tackling-wise, it makes a big deal when receivers go across the middle.”

If Clark and Meriweather do indeed “bring the funk” when they tackle the defense will have a dimension it hasn’t had in quite some time. As long as both safeties stay with the NFL’s safety rules it could be fun to watch.  


(csnwashington.com)