National Football League

Gruden on Gruden when Redskins play Monday

Published Aug. 15, 2014 2:31 p.m. ET

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ASHBURN, Va. (AP) On Monday night, Jon Gruden the television analyst gets to critique Jay Gruden the rookie NFL head coach. It should make for a few entertaining moments.

''Jon is Jon. He's going to be positive if he can, but if I do something that's out-of-line ignorant, I'm sure he'll call me on it,'' Jay Gruden said with a laugh.

Young brother Jay's Washington Redskins will host the Cleveland Browns on older brother Jon's ''Monday Night Football.'' On Saturday, Jon will interview Jay as part of the usual pregame broadcast routine. There were competitive as boys and have been mutually supportive of each other as adults, but their sibling banter remains as strong as ever.

''He's very good at what he does, and he won't jeopardize what he does for my feelings, that's for sure,'' Jay said with another laugh. ''He never has.''

Actually, Jay Gruden has been doing a good job of self-critique without any help during his initial months on the job. After his first preseason game, he candidly admitted: ''I need to fix my game day awareness.''

It's not often an NFL coach will say something like that, even if there's a good excuse: Jay Gruden only had to focus on one side of the ball during his three seasons as offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals.

''Sometimes I get so focused in on offense and what's going on, I'm reading the iPad thing and looking at the plays - and there's a game going on out there I've got to watch,'' he said. ''So there's things like that I need to focus in on a little bit more. The preseason games are equally as important for the coaches as they are for players.

''It's a great experience for me, and I know I've got a long way to go to improve myself, but just little things - simple awareness things - and being able to communicate and see what's going on.''

Jay Gruden also said he wants to fix the pregame warmup because, well, it ''just felt like it was a little weird.''

''Just little things, like how long we're out there for stretching, one-on-ones and all that stuff - just a couple things that I didn't feel comfortable about,'' he said. ''Certain things you just don't really think about, and pregame warm-up is one of them.''

After the new-and-improved warmup, the starters will play about a quarter Monday night. Among those not suiting up will be defensive end Jason Hatcher (recovering from knee surgery), running back Chris Thompson (sprained ankle) and LB Darryl Sharpton (sprained ankle). Safety Brandon Meriweather is questionable with a toe injury.

Friday's practice was scheduled to the last this season open to reporters in its entirety, and it was a lively one. When running back Alfred Morris dropped a pass in front of linebacker Adam Hayward, Hayward teased: ''You haven't got to cover him; he can't catch'' - another reminder that the offense needs someone to step up as a third-down back.

Cornerback DeAngelo Hall was needled mercilessly after giving up a deep pass to speedy DeSean Jackson, who wears jersey No. 1 in practice. ''You thought `1' was going to block you,'' hollered defensive backs coach Raheem Morris. ''You know `1' don't block!''

Finally, when a stray ball bounded toward the sidelines, team president Bruce Allen gave it a boot back onto the field.

''Terrible punt!'' safety Ryan Clark quipped at Allen. ''Good thing you're better at picking players than punting.''

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Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

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Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

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