RICHMOND, Va. -- Washington Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy felt he had made the right decision, and he quickly moved on to the next play in practice. During a team meeting later in the day, he realized he should have made a better decision, a point driven home through head coach Jay Gruden's sarcasm. It's a constant weapon, one that can make meetings more enjoyable -- for others.

For McCoy, it started with a play in which he's asked to pick a side, then make the throw. This time, the side he picked ended up being covered. Rather than reset, work his way back to the other side and find his running back, McCoy tossed the ball into the dirt.

"It wasn't a terrible decision," McCoy said. "But Jay was like, 'Hey, when did we install this?' Uh, Day 1. He goes, 'Um, is the halfback eligible?' I go, yeah. He says, 'OK, I'm just checking.'

"That's in front of the team. Yeah, I missed it and he certainly won't let that slide. Yeah, I know he's eligible. But I'll hit it next time."

That's the Gruden way: often getting his message across through humor or sarcasm. It's one reason receiver Terrelle Pryor called Gruden "funny as hell."

"I can't wait to get to meetings to hear him talk because he's just so funny," Pryor said. "And, you know, you're tired, your legs are tired, but it's good to have a coach that's amused."

Sarcasm works

Gruden said it's not as if he makes a conscious effort to inject humor or sarcasm. It's just his style. He's not trying to be Chris Rock; he's just trying to make a point.

"It's just a gut feeling on what the situation is," Gruden said. "Sometimes it's not humorous at all and you have to be serious and put out fires and eliminate those. But I don't need to be a hard-ass 24-7. It's good to get these guys light and let them play and have fun. But you still have to motivate them and get the most out of them.

"There's a fine line there, but I'll cut it up with some guys. Sometimes when they mess up you don't need to curse them out. I can get my point across in other ways."

Gruden isn't running a comedy shop; it's just one way he sends a message. Part of it stems perhaps from being a guy more comfortable in his role. During one slight break in practice last week, a fan yelled out about Gruden's weight loss -- he's down 22 pounds -- and the coach smiled and tapped his belly.

But he's also the same guy who angrily banished Bashaud Breeland to the sideline earlier this week after the corner had lost his poise -- during a walk-through. Gruden shouted for him to leave the field; Breeland stayed. Gruden repeated his demand, using an expletive. Breeland stepped off the field. Monday, Gruden snapped at offensive players for how they broke the huddle. Last season, much was made of Gruden chewing out his players after a loss in Arizona.

"He expects guys in the locker room to lead, and he expects guys to know their responsibilities to do their jobs," McCoy said, "We all know his standards. If that's ever out of line, Jay will be the first to step in and set it straight."

Gruden will send messages to anyone -- as he was being interviewed, one player walked by and asked him to say something nice about him; Gruden told him to keep his pads down. "See, that was a joke but it really wasn't," he said as the player left.

Killing Sudfeld

Gruden saves his best work for the quarterbacks -- the position he played once upon a time at Louisville and in the Arena Football League. Even Redskins starter Kirk Cousins gets his share. Sometimes it's big; other times it's not.

"The other day we're talking, and this isn't cutting," Cousins said, "but he said, 'What were you thinking on that play?' I said, I thought ... and I was going to say, 'I thought the coverage was going to be this' or 'I thought the blitz was going to be that.' He said, 'You know who the worst player in football was?' I said, 'Who's that?' He said, 'I thought.'

"He has quick one-liners that don't give room for a response. You learn to smile and take the coaching point and move on."

But Gruden loves zinging one quarterback in particular: second-year player Nate Sudfeld.

"I kill Sudfeld, I just murder Sudfeld," Gruden said, with obvious glee. "He takes it so well and is such a good sport, but to be a quarterback you better have thick skin. You have to get on them hard, and I have some pretty good stuff."

Sudfeld won't dispute any of that.

"If we're doing team drills and someone is too close to the line, he's like, 'Get back, Sudfeld!' even if I'm already behind the play," he said. "If a ball is incomplete he's like, 'Who is that? Sudfeld?' Even if it's not me. It's good, fun stuff. There's a few of us Jay goes after. I'm his guinea pig at times. He always coaches me up. But I'd rather have him say stuff to me than nothing at all."

Ditto, says Matt Hazel, a second-year receiver fighting for a roster spot. Last summer, Hazel, listed at 6-foot-1, weighed 205 pounds with 15 percent body fat. And Gruden loves needling Hazel.

"He was killing me about that," Hazel said. "He said he was going to move me to tight end."

Point made. Hazel reported to camp at 197 pounds and 8 percent body fat, though Gruden still razzes him about other stuff. Sometimes, Gruden's humor emerges in unexpected ways, like in team meetings the night before games.

"He'll say something and then bring up a rap lyric: 'I remember one time when so and so said this,'" linebacker Will Compton said.

Compton guessed that Gruden's son, Jack, fed him the rap lyrics. Nope.

"From my iPod," Gruden said.

Mostly, though, it's about improving performance. Tight end Niles Paul, in his seventh season, said Gruden will razz him after poor routes, yelling, "I can run a route better than that." Message sent.

"Nobody wants to be embarrassed by their coaches. He uses zingers in a way where it's funny and playful, but correcting," Paul said. "It's better than a coach killing your confidence. ... You want to correct it because you know he's always watching."