The playing surface at FedExField for Thursday's Giants-Redskins game “appeared more dirt than grass, with a charred, brown streak running the length of its heavily traveled middle third,” according to Clarke & Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. When Redskins QB Kirk Cousins threw his lone interception, it “appeared that he had gotten a foot snagged in what passed for turf.” Redskins coach Jay Gruden “made clear he saw nothing amiss about the field and had no vantage point for gauging.” But a source said the NFLPA “will take a look at the matter.” Redskins Senior VP/Communications Tony Wyllie said the field condition is a "non-issue.” He said, “Our field was in good condition last night, although a recent freeze made the Bermuda grass turn brown between the numbers.” NFL VP/Football Communications Michael Signora in an email wrote that the league “saw nothing amiss with the field Thursday night and received no complaints about it.” Signora added that the league was “aware that the Redskins had re-sodded the field, referring a question about the date to the team, which [he] declined to answer.” Signora wrote that the field “complied with NFL standards" when it was tested as part of the league’s "mandatory field practices” (WASHINGTON POST, 11/25). Cousins during a Friday radio appearance said, “It probably doesn’t look like a professional NFL field should.” He added, “I don’t know why it is that way or what causes it. I’ve kind of learned to just accept it and understand it as a part of the deal” (WASHINGTON POST, 11/26).
TAKE CARE OF THINGS: ESPN’s Charles Woodson discussed the field conditions at FedExField and said, "We’re always talking about the NFL and the standard of the NFL, and it starts with the field. The field has to be in great condition for our players to go out there and perform their jobs. Groundskeepers, the owner, (Dan) Snyder -- get some people in there, send them to Arizona, see what they do to their field to have it in tiptop condition every week, and do it to your field. It makes no sense for your players to have to speak out against their playing surface" (“Sunday NFL Countdown,” ESPN, 11/26).
