****OFFICIAL 2008 Washington Redskins Thread**** (1 Viewer)

[T Bell]

I thought that this was an interesting approach to expectations during Zorn's first year, though I don't agree with all of his conclusions.

It seems like, in that analysis, a lot depended on the QB the first-year coach had. So that's pretty much what we generally think about this year's Redskins --- a lot will depend on Jason Campbell.

Exactly. The good news is that, unlike a number of those WCO coaches (Holmgren-Favre; Reid-McNabb), Zorn comes in with Campbell having had some experience under his belt.

 

[fatness]

Jason Taylor said a lot of the right things at his press conference.

Taylor mentioned the injury to Phillip Daniels early-on as well. "My heart breaks for a guy who was getting ready to go," Taylor said.

Taylor said that his statements in June that he we would play just one more season, but said he will in fact play out the two years left on his contract. "I'll be here for more than one year, God-willing, unless something bad happens (health-wise)," Taylor said. "I'm here to play ball, and play ball as long as I can."

While making it clear this offseason that he is very interested in future pursuit in entertainment, Taylor said "Dancing With The Stars" is far from his mind, now. "It's football season; there is no entertain business stuff right now. There is no dancing."

Taylor said he is cool with playing on the left side - moving from right end - and has done it in the past. "While it will be different from what I've done the majority of my career, I have done plenty of it," Taylor said, "and had some success over there, too ... We'll find a way to do it very well."

Taylor will meet his teammates at a team meeting tonight at the National Conference Center, and then jump right into training camp. He will be on the field for practice at 8:30 on Tuesday.

 

[Bizkiteer]

I thought that this was an interesting approach to expectations during Zorn's first year, though I don't agree with all of his conclusions.

Can I get cliffnotes or moral of the story? If not, can we post things like this as the Book of the Month/Week award. This would better prepare me for the reading journey that I'm about to be taken for...

 

[southeastjerome]

Jason Taylor wearing #55 and listed in program as "LB/DE"

 

[fatness]

Taylor said he entered into very brief negotiations with Andre Carter about obtaining No. 99 Monday night, but after talking to his wife, opted for a change. "I decided to let 99 stay in Miami," he said. Taylor said he likes wearing double-digits, and given the limitations put on certain numbers and positions, 55 was the best option. Plus, it's what he wore in the Senior Bowl.

Taylor said his new teammates have ribbed him a bit about his Hollywood offseason, and that he has only talked briefly with the coaches overall about role and philosophy.

JLC's blogAlso, Portis turned an ankle and will be looked at.

 

[fatness]

I thought that this was an interesting approach to expectations during Zorn's first year, though I don't agree with all of his conclusions.

Can I get cliffnotes or moral of the story? If not, can we post things like this as the Book of the Month/Week award. This would better prepare me for the reading journey that I'm about to be taken for...

You need this.

 

[DCThunder]

Did you guys hear Joe Bugel raving about Chad Reinhart and Stephon Heyer to George and Sonny last night? I know camp is only two days old and Buges loves every lineman he ever met, but from how he talked about the two, there could be some good things coming from the OL this season, as in Pete Kendall and Jon Jansen better have great pre-seasons or they may become back-ups.

 

[dgreen]

James Thrash making an impression on the new coaching staff:

James Thrash, Keeps On TickingI'll be the first to admit that from the time Joe Gibbs left the team, I wondered if WR James Thrash's days here were numbered. He was the ultimate "real Redskin" under Gibbs, but was also aging and rarely got on the field in an offensive role the past two seasons.Don't get me wrong - I actually think Thrash was generally underutilized. I love his toughness, sure hands, route-running ability, positive energy, football instinct, intelligence, versatility (can play like every position other than the O Line and RB), and the total selflessness with which he plays ...But still, after adding three pass catchers in the second round of the draft, and after Vinny Cerrato and Jim Zorn spent much of the winter lobbing platitudes at young reserve WR Anthony Mix, and with Thrash slowing down and having no ties to the new coaches coming in ... well, let's just say a lot of the football staff here was figuring that Thrash, 32, might have a hard time sticking around.Turns out Thrash made an immediate impression on Zorn and his guys this offseason. They fell for him for all the same reasons Gibbs did - and his importance on special teams was obvious. Throughout the review of OTA practices, Thrash's name kept coming up in coaching meetings, and the remarks were generally glowing."The guy makes plays every day, he can run forever, he learned the offense right away," one staff member said. "The new coaches were like, 'This guy is unbelievable.' They love him too. I'd be shocked if he's not here."Injuries, of course, are a determining factor in the end. And Zorn, given his predilection for spread formations with 4-5 possible pass catchers, may end up keeping 6 WRs, with Mix and Burl Toller and some others fighting for that spot. (However, with the team possibly keeping 3 TEs, and perhaps an extra offensive lineman, given the age and health issues of that unit, perhaps 6 WRs is a luxury they will not be able to afford.)Bottom line: You can't keep James Thrash down. I should have known better by now after four years. My bad.

 

[dgreen]

The Redskins now have an official blog. I'm sure we'll get a lot of objective analysis from this Matt Terl guy. I'm sure Danny will let him say whatever he wants.

 

[fatness]

Did you guys hear Joe Bugel raving about Chad Reinhart and Stephon Heyer to George and Sonny last night? I know camp is only two days old and Buges loves every lineman he ever met, but from how he talked about the two, there could be some good things coming from the OL this season, as in Pete Kendall and Jon Jansen better have great pre-seasons or they may become back-ups.

I didn't hear it but I wish I had. This is good stuff to hear.

 

[fatness]

Also, Portis turned an ankle and will be looked at.

Portis played in the afternoon practice.

Clinton Portis, who turned an ankle in the brief morning practice, was back on the field in the afternoon. He went in -- and promptly was blown up (according to Jasno) by H.B. Blades, who knocked him off his feet with a clean hit. Portis popped right up. No harm, no foul.

 

[Bizkiteer]

I thought that this was an interesting approach to expectations during Zorn's first year, though I don't agree with all of his conclusions.

Can I get cliffnotes or moral of the story? If not, can we post things like this as the Book of the Month/Week award. This would better prepare me for the reading journey that I'm about to be taken for...

You need this.

LOL, too good! Thanks!!!

 

[Meast21]

I posted this on extremeskins but not sure how many of you visit that site. Anyways I was at training camp this morning (7/22) and saw a few interesting things that I thought I would share.

1) Carlos Rogers, although not participating in any contact drills, was working out with the starting rotation (Springs, Doughty, Landry, Smoot) on the far side of the field going over coverages. They would have a coach snap the ball and Springs, Doughty, Landry, Smoot, Carlos, Schweigert (interchanged obviously) would run into the coverage they were supposed to be in. Granted they were just going over coverages but he was still running around with his helmet on which I thought was a great sign. Also, unlike most people who comeback from a torn ACL/MCL he did not even have a brace on his knee. I know they can be bothersome but I was still surprised at this, he actually looked quite fluid in his hips and lower body. I haven't heard anything mentioned on him really and I thought this was pretty important, maybe he won't be put on PUP list afterall.

2) Fred Davis is going to be really good. He is very fast and is very crisp in his route running. Near the end of practice they had receivers and TE's going one on one with DB's and safeties and Fred schooled his opposition on two occasions. Also during these drills Landry was going up against Jason Goode (#85, TE) who made a phenominal cut and left Landry looking like a fool. The crowd let out and ooohhh and you could tell Landry was upset and instead of letting Chris Horton go up next in the drill he pushed him back and went one on one with Cooley and faired much better (if Cooley caught it was only for 3 or 4 yards). He got jarred a little bit when he got back in line, but it was still nice to see him want additional reps.

3) James Thrash is the man. I just read JLC's comments about him and he couldn't be more spot on. In special team drills he was the model of consistency and was catching everything thrown at him in redzone drills. I really think he's going to have a very big role on this team this year and I don't just mean on special teams.

As for Portis ankle it really seemed rather minor, he got his foot taped over his shoe, but walked off the field with no real limp.

 

[fatness]

You need this.

LOL, too good! Thanks!!!

I figured someone would like that if they clicked on it. Hucleberry Finn is my favorite.

Huckleberry Finn

(Goes rafting. Goes home.)

THE END

 

[fatness]

I posted this on extremeskins but not sure how many of you visit that site. Anyways I was at training camp this morning (7/22) and saw a few interesting things that I thought I would share.

Thanks man. That's good to hear about Fred Davis and Carlos Rogers. And about Landry. Are you going to any more practices?

 

[Bizkiteer]

You need this.

LOL, too good! Thanks!!!

I figured someone would like that if they clicked on it. Hucleberry Finn is my favorite.

Huckleberry Finn

(Goes rafting. Goes home.)

THE END

Yeah, that one is really niiiiiiiccccccce.

 

[Bizkiteer]

I posted this on extremeskins but not sure how many of you visit that site. Anyways I was at training camp this morning (7/22) and saw a few interesting things that I thought I would share.1) Carlos Rogers, although not participating in any contact drills, was working out with the starting rotation (Springs, Doughty, Landry, Smoot) on the far side of the field going over coverages. They would have a coach snap the ball and Springs, Doughty, Landry, Smoot, Carlos, Schweigert (interchanged obviously) would run into the coverage they were supposed to be in. Granted they were just going over coverages but he was still running around with his helmet on which I thought was a great sign. Also, unlike most people who comeback from a torn ACL/MCL he did not even have a brace on his knee. I know they can be bothersome but I was still surprised at this, he actually looked quite fluid in his hips and lower body. I haven't heard anything mentioned on him really and I thought this was pretty important, maybe he won't be put on PUP list afterall.2) Fred Davis is going to be really good. He is very fast and is very crisp in his route running. Near the end of practice they had receivers and TE's going one on one with DB's and safeties and Fred schooled his opposition on two occasions. Also during these drills Landry was going up against Jason Goode (#85, TE) who made a phenominal cut and left Landry looking like a fool. The crowd let out and ooohhh and you could tell Landry was upset and instead of letting Chris Horton go up next in the drill he pushed him back and went one on one with Cooley and faired much better (if Cooley caught it was only for 3 or 4 yards). He got jarred a little bit when he got back in line, but it was still nice to see him want additional reps.3) James Thrash is the man. I just read JLC's comments about him and he couldn't be more spot on. In special team drills he was the model of consistency and was catching everything thrown at him in redzone drills. I really think he's going to have a very big role on this team this year and I don't just mean on special teams.As for Portis ankle it really seemed rather minor, he got his foot taped over his shoe, but walked off the field with no real limp.

I actually read that post and really enjoyed your observations. I liked reading about Fred Davis especially since we've heard very little about since his sleepy incident. That was cool of you to share.

 

[fatness]

Zorn on Portis

It sounds like offseason participation was written into his contract.

Zorn has been pleased with Portis's performance throughout the offseason and early in training camp but alluded to the contract several times. "It was a forced issue for him," Zorn said of Portis. "I'm sure he would have loved to have been in Miami in the warmth and stuff, but he made some sacrifices. Partly it was extrinsic motivation that he made sacrifices. But he did it. "And it really not only worked well for him, it worked very well for us because we're going to benefit from everything he did in this weight room during the offseason. And I think he feels it, too. He got better this offseason."

Portis, the fourth-leading rusher in franchise history, possesses the skills to produce in Zorn's version of the West Coast offense, Zorn said.

"I think he's wonderful in his lateral movement. I think he understands the game. He's very smart," he said. "He kids around a lot; he tries to get a rise out of you, if you didn't notice that. "But what happens is, when he gets on the field, he's concentrating, and he really understands the concepts that are out there. So I really like his football awareness and his ability to see things. He's got great eyes."

 

[fatness]

Bugel on the O-line

None of those role players possesses the strength and athleticism of the starters, however, who when healthy can thrive in run blocking and pass protection. They can handle zone blocking and straight-ahead assignments as well.

Zorn, who maintained all the existing terminology for the linemen to ease their transition to his system, wants to protect young starting quarterback Jason Campbell from physical abuse, and that requires keeping the first-string offensive line on the field for preseason games.

Yet Zorn also must limit exposing the linemen to unnecessary injury risk, needing to develop a rotation in which at least four regulars are together. "That's exactly what's going to happen," Zorn said, "and Pete Kendall is probably the first guy out to save his knees."

Samuels has played the least so far, running alone with the training staff to improve his conditioning during team drills. Bugel said Samuels's weight peaked at 335 this offseason, but he is quickly shedding pounds. Thomas is working back into form after having his knee scoped this offseason and his biceps repaired last season.

Jansen is far along in his recovery -- "He's a fast healer," Bugel said -- and is trying to stay healthy after being dogged by injuries in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Jansen had never missed a game prior to rupturing his Achilles' tendon in the first preseason game in 2004. "I'm really happy with how I'm moving," Jansen said. "I feel great."

Zorn said he expects Jansen and Thomas to start every regular season game "and play the whole game. If we have to give them a rest we will, but they have worked out so hard this offseason, and I haven't seen a glitch. I haven't seen any gimping around or complaining."

Wade, 31, is healthy after struggling through an injury-plagued 2007, while Heyer, 24, showed he can contribute after being a huge surprise last year. His body is much more defined now after an offseason spent working out with Thomas -- "He thinks he's Tarzan now," Bugel said -- and Fabini, 33, is a slow starter but became a vital stopgap lineman during the playoff push last season.

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Bugel's ability to juggle personnel and coax strong play from reserves saved last season, and he aims to do the same with Rinehart in 2008. Bugel welcomed the rookie to the league yesterday by immediately lining him up against Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor.

 

[dgreen]

Bugel on the O-line

Yet Zorn also must limit exposing the linemen to unnecessary injury risk, needing to develop a rotation in which at least four regulars are together. "That's exactly what's going to happen," Zorn said, "and Pete Kendall is probably the first guy out to save his knees."

I look forward to seeing Rinehart early and often in the HOF Game.

 

[Meast21]

I posted this on extremeskins but not sure how many of you visit that site. Anyways I was at training camp this morning (7/22) and saw a few interesting things that I thought I would share.

Thanks man. That's good to hear about Fred Davis and Carlos Rogers. And about Landry. Are you going to any more practices?

I plan on going on either Friday or Monday, let me know if their is anything you guys want me to look out for.

 

[buster c]

I hate to be a buzz(bee) kill, but this is in line with what I had been posting in the off-season thread about JC. Not looking too good. A successful season hinges on his playing good ball:

Campbell Unhappy With His Play in Camp

By Jason Reid and Jason La Canfora

Washington Post Staff Writers

Tuesday, July 22, 2008; E05

Quarterback Jason Campbell said he was disappointed in his performance the first two days of training camp.

"I'm just not playing my type of ball right now," he said. "I know I can play at a high level if I play my type of ball, but I'm not doing that right now. I'm putting pressure on myself. I'm just trying to please everybody instead of just playing, just being myself and letting go.

"I know I'm a good quarterback. I know I don't have anything to prove . I've just got to go let go, go out there and have fun. Just play the game. You play your best when you're just playing loose and having fun. Just don't worry about a whole lot of things. Don't worry about what people think."

Although Coach Jim Zorn said he was pleased with Campbell's progress in running the Redskins' new West Coast offense, Campbell said he made poor throws on several plays in the first session yesterday.

"I worry about trying to make every play," Campbell said.

In Zorn's scheme, Campbell must make the correct protection calls for the offensive line and determine the direction of running plays based on the alignment of the defense.

"That's not an issue," Campbell said. "As far as controlling the run game, that's something I did in the past; it's second nature right now. As far as picking up protection calls, I know how to do that. That's something I've done before.

"That's routine stuff you get better at each and every day. The things I'm talking about . . . I just have to relax and play my game. I want to make every throw perfect, but I know every throw won't be perfect. That's how I put too much pressure on myself and the ball gets away from me."

 

[Mr Capicollo]

I hate to be a buzz(bee) kill, but this is in line with what I had been posting in the off-season thread about JC. Not looking too good. A successful season hinges on his playing good ball:

Campbell Unhappy With His Play in Camp

By Jason Reid and Jason La Canfora

Washington Post Staff Writers

Tuesday, July 22, 2008; E05

Quarterback Jason Campbell said he was disappointed in his performance the first two days of training camp.

"I'm just not playing my type of ball right now," he said. "I know I can play at a high level if I play my type of ball, but I'm not doing that right now. I'm putting pressure on myself. I'm just trying to please everybody instead of just playing, just being myself and letting go.

"I know I'm a good quarterback. I know I don't have anything to prove . I've just got to go let go, go out there and have fun. Just play the game. You play your best when you're just playing loose and having fun. Just don't worry about a whole lot of things. Don't worry about what people think."

Although Coach Jim Zorn said he was pleased with Campbell's progress in running the Redskins' new West Coast offense, Campbell said he made poor throws on several plays in the first session yesterday.

"I worry about trying to make every play," Campbell said.

In Zorn's scheme, Campbell must make the correct protection calls for the offensive line and determine the direction of running plays based on the alignment of the defense.

"That's not an issue," Campbell said. "As far as controlling the run game, that's something I did in the past; it's second nature right now. As far as picking up protection calls, I know how to do that. That's something I've done before.

"That's routine stuff you get better at each and every day. The things I'm talking about . . . I just have to relax and play my game. I want to make every throw perfect, but I know every throw won't be perfect. That's how I put too much pressure on myself and the ball gets away from me."

I read that and interpreted it to mean that he was speaking about proving what he could do in the drills to the coaches who he worked with all offseason, and also about his own mindset, playing relaxed, etc. Jason knows he needs to put it together on Sundays.

 

[Ripleys]

Jason is the key to this season, for sure. I could see the Skins winning 12 games, or winning 6, all depends on his play. The good news is, Collins proved he is a VERY capable backup, and Colt can throw the ball to the moon while sitting down.

 

[fatness]

So now that sadness over Daniels and joy over Jason Taylor have died down ------ how is Jason Taylor against the run? Did we just weaken our run defense?

 

[dgreen]

So now that sadness over Daniels and joy over Jason Taylor have died down ------ how is Jason Taylor against the run? Did we just weaken our run defense?

Opinion in the IDP Forum is that he's solid against the run. That surprised me a little, given his lack of bulk.

 

[Mr Capicollo]

So now that sadness over Daniels and joy over Jason Taylor have died down ------ how is Jason Taylor against the run? Did we just weaken our run defense?

Opinion in the IDP Forum is that he's solid against the run. That surprised me a little, given his lack of bulk.

Nice breakdown on Taylor from a Dolphins fan, from Extremeskins.

 

[Sidewinder16]

So now that sadness over Daniels and joy over Jason Taylor have died down ------ how is Jason Taylor against the run? Did we just weaken our run defense?

Opinion in the IDP Forum is that he's solid against the run. That surprised me a little, given his lack of bulk.

The Post got a hold of a couple of scouting reports on Taylor. They're kind of a mixed bag, but I think they reaffirm that he's an undoubted asset to the defense.Based on physical appearance, Taylor has really long arms. I think that helps him keep OLs and TEs from locking him up, which allows him to release from a block whenever he needs to. He may not have the bulk of Daniels but I bet he can more than hold his own in the run game.

 

[Mr Capicollo]

So now that sadness over Daniels and joy over Jason Taylor have died down ------ how is Jason Taylor against the run? Did we just weaken our run defense?

Opinion in the IDP Forum is that he's solid against the run. That surprised me a little, given his lack of bulk.

The Post got a hold of a couple of scouting reports on Taylor. They're kind of a mixed bag, but I think they reaffirm that he's an undoubted asset to the defense.Based on physical appearance, Taylor has really long arms. I think that helps him keep OLs and TEs from locking him up, which allows him to release from a block whenever he needs to. He may not have the bulk of Daniels but I bet he can more than hold his own in the run game.

He's also quick, which may help him shoot gaps even on running plays.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Just a quick personnel note from this afternoon's special teams practice:

Among the notable players on the practice field: Shawn Springs, Devin Thomas, James Thrash and J.T. Tryon, each of whom serves as a backup kick returner

Cartright and Randle El are the #1 kick/punt returners, but it's nice to see who will be filling in if they go down.Good to see some rookies plugging in here, and I was a little surprised to see Springs in that list. Maybe I just didn't realize he was a backup returner option.

 

[dgreen]

Just a quick personnel note from this afternoon's special teams practice:

Among the notable players on the practice field: Shawn Springs, Devin Thomas, James Thrash and J.T. Tryon, each of whom serves as a backup kick returner

Cartright and Randle El are the #1 kick/punt returners, but it's nice to see who will be filling in if they go down.Good to see some rookies plugging in here, and I was a little surprised to see Springs in that list. Maybe I just didn't realize he was a backup returner option.

I remember being at training camp one day last year and seeing 6 or 7 different guys taking reps at punt returner. Not sure how much should be read into that. For example, assuming full health, I'd find it very hard to believe that Springs takes a punt return before Moss.It'll be nice to see someone push Randle El for the PR job. He was pretty bad last year. Only Keenan McCardell's extremely pathetic PR attempts could make Randle El's 2007 season look good.

 

[Sidewinder16]

It'll be nice to see someone push Randle El for the PR job. He was pretty bad last year. Only Keenan McCardell's extremely pathetic PR attempts could make Randle El's 2007 season look good.

Agreed. I'm rooting for Tryon to show some good stuff in the PR game. He's a burner and if he can be at least as good as Randle El that will save El's legs and get Tryon on the field, and roster. Leigh Torrence is receiving a lot of praise filling in as the #3 CB so far. If Rogers can start the season on the active roster Tryon may be CB#5, at best.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Lots of great info on the defense from JLC's latest blog entry:

The Redskins have been playing a lot of press-man coverage with their corners early in camp, more than what seemed to be the norm. Playing man is nothing new around here, but there was no cushion being given at all. Fred Smoot and Shawn Springs, the starting corners, have loved it, 'cuz now they're even closer to the WRs to beat them up a bit and also to ensure all of their smack talk is audible.

Smoot said he expects the team to play a ton of it this season, and that CB Coach Jerry Gray is stressing press technique. I asked Jim Zorn if the prevalence of the coverage was just to give the offense that look in practice, and he said, no, that he figured the Redskins would be a pressing team. Not 100 percent of the time, of course, but given the size and skills of their corner, the enhanced pass rush with Jason Taylor and the presence of a ball-hawk, head-hunter like LaRon Landry behind the corners at safety, it makes a lot of sense.

The CBs have to get a solid jam on the WRs and derail them from their route - within the ever-shrinking legal limits of doing so - and it's definitely a high-gamble tactic (if the corner whiffs you've got a streaking WR going deep all alone), but it can be smothering if done properly. Makes for some fun battles during 11-on-11s as well, especially when the kid WRs are out there.

Other Stuff: Demetric Evans is 10 pounds heavier than a year ago and is looking very sharp thus far. If he keeps this up, he will find his way into the rotation at DE - perhaps more on the left side on running downs and to spell Jason Taylor - as well as coming up the gut as an interior pass rusher. Zorn envisions getting Erasmus James into the mix - his injury permitting - to give the Skins a very capable four-man DE rotation (along with starting RE Andre Carter)

 

[thayman]

It'll be nice to see someone push Randle El for the PR job. He was pretty bad last year. Only Keenan McCardell's extremely pathetic PR attempts could make Randle El's 2007 season look good.

Agreed. I'm rooting for Tryon to show some good stuff in the PR game. He's a burner and if he can be at least as good as Randle El that will save El's legs and get Tryon on the field, and roster. Leigh Torrence is receiving a lot of praise filling in as the #3 CB so far. If Rogers can start the season on the active roster Tryon may be CB#5, at best.

ARE isn't as bad as his numbers indicate. He almost never fair catches a punt and tries to turn return everything.

 

[Lowen1]

Lots of great info on the defense from JLC's latest blog entry:

The Redskins have been playing a lot of press-man coverage with their corners early in camp, more than what seemed to be the norm. Playing man is nothing new around here, but there was no cushion being given at all. Fred Smoot and Shawn Springs, the starting corners, have loved it, 'cuz now they're even closer to the WRs to beat them up a bit and also to ensure all of their smack talk is audible.

Smoot said he expects the team to play a ton of it this season, and that CB Coach Jerry Gray is stressing press technique. I asked Jim Zorn if the prevalence of the coverage was just to give the offense that look in practice, and he said, no, that he figured the Redskins would be a pressing team. Not 100 percent of the time, of course, but given the size and skills of their corner, the enhanced pass rush with Jason Taylor and the presence of a ball-hawk, head-hunter like LaRon Landry behind the corners at safety, it makes a lot of sense.

The CBs have to get a solid jam on the WRs and derail them from their route - within the ever-shrinking legal limits of doing so - and it's definitely a high-gamble tactic (if the corner whiffs you've got a streaking WR going deep all alone), but it can be smothering if done properly. Makes for some fun battles during 11-on-11s as well, especially when the kid WRs are out there.

Other Stuff: Demetric Evans is 10 pounds heavier than a year ago and is looking very sharp thus far. If he keeps this up, he will find his way into the rotation at DE - perhaps more on the left side on running downs and to spell Jason Taylor - as well as coming up the gut as an interior pass rusher. Zorn envisions getting Erasmus James into the mix - his injury permitting - to give the Skins a very capable four-man DE rotation (along with starting RE Andre Carter)

Reminds me of the days when Champ Bailey would stand up just inches from the WR and be right in his face. I always liked press coverage. Springs is big enough, but I'm not so sure about Smoot. Smoot has the desire (and mouth) to do it, but I'm not sure about his 170 pound body.

 

[Dexter Manley]

Found this on cnnsi.com:

Seamless transition for Taylor?

The Washington Redskins have been roundly praised for the expeditious manner in which they moved to trade for Jason Taylor after losing starting defensive end Phillip Daniels, and rightfully so. The loss of Daniels created an obvious hole along the Redskins front, at a position most observers felt was lacking even before Daniels went down on the first day of training camp. The Redskins are extremely fortunate that a Pro Bowl-caliber player like Taylor was available, and they pounced on the opportunity immediately.

But this move doesn't come without some concern on the part of Redskins players and management. Though he never had much of a national media profile, Daniels was considered a core Redskin and was admired by everyone within the organization. He was a team leader, a player the team could count on in any adverse situation. Those intangibles cannot be discounted or minimized.

On the field, he was a standout run defender and had enough size at around 290 pounds to bump inside to tackle on passing downs and create a push while providing the hammer as an attack guy for a lot of the stunts in the passing game.

Though Taylor moved around quite a bit during his time in Miami, he was primarily a blind-side pass rusher working against left tackles. His transition to the other side will be more difficult than advertised for a multitude of reasons.

Taylor will now be covered by a tight end more often as most teams play-callers are historically right-side dominant when calling the strength of the formation. That will limit Taylor's freedom and ensures he will face more double teams in the run game than ever before. His lean, Dancing with the Stars physique will be tested on a weekly basis.

More importantly, Taylor will need to use the next six weeks to gain confidence in his pass-rushing prowess from the opposite side. It is not nearly as easy as one might think.

For starters, his line of vision to the ball will be different, as will his body lean as he runs the imaginary hoop towards the QB. Taylor is used to dipping his left shoulder. He will have to get accustomed to dipping his right.

The biggest difference will be with his pass rush moves. Taylor could previously use his right hand to club the outside arm of the offensive tackle or to grab his shoulder and pull himself through. He will have to become equally adept at using his left in order to have the same type of success.

Can Taylor become as dominant a force on the defense's left side as he was on the right? Absolutely. Is it a foregone conclusion? Not at all.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...akes/index.html

 

[dgreen]

It'll be nice to see someone push Randle El for the PR job. He was pretty bad last year. Only Keenan McCardell's extremely pathetic PR attempts could make Randle El's 2007 season look good.

Agreed. I'm rooting for Tryon to show some good stuff in the PR game. He's a burner and if he can be at least as good as Randle El that will save El's legs and get Tryon on the field, and roster. Leigh Torrence is receiving a lot of praise filling in as the #3 CB so far. If Rogers can start the season on the active roster Tryon may be CB#5, at best.

ARE isn't as bad as his numbers indicate. He almost never fair catches a punt and tries to turn return everything.

I'm going to look into this. I started started to post my findings but noticed at least one problem with the NFL.com data, so I'll try to figure that out before looking into it too much. But, a preliminary look at the data shows a very, very weak correlation between FC and return average over the last two years. They really don't appear to have much connection at all. And, surprisingly, the little correlation they do have is negative (the more FC you have, the lower your average).

 

[thayman]

It'll be nice to see someone push Randle El for the PR job. He was pretty bad last year. Only Keenan McCardell's extremely pathetic PR attempts could make Randle El's 2007 season look good.

Agreed. I'm rooting for Tryon to show some good stuff in the PR game. He's a burner and if he can be at least as good as Randle El that will save El's legs and get Tryon on the field, and roster. Leigh Torrence is receiving a lot of praise filling in as the #3 CB so far. If Rogers can start the season on the active roster Tryon may be CB#5, at best.

ARE isn't as bad as his numbers indicate. He almost never fair catches a punt and tries to turn return everything.

I'm going to look into this. I started started to post my findings but noticed at least one problem with the NFL.com data, so I'll try to figure that out before looking into it too much. But, a preliminary look at the data shows a very, very weak correlation between FC and return average over the last two years. They really don't appear to have much connection at all. And, surprisingly, the little correlation they do have is negative (the more FC you have, the lower your average).

I'm only basing my opinion on watching the games, and it just seems that if you took out the number of times he didn't call a fair catch and got hit immedilately his average would be much higher.

 

[dgreen]

It'll be nice to see someone push Randle El for the PR job. He was pretty bad last year. Only Keenan McCardell's extremely pathetic PR attempts could make Randle El's 2007 season look good.

Agreed. I'm rooting for Tryon to show some good stuff in the PR game. He's a burner and if he can be at least as good as Randle El that will save El's legs and get Tryon on the field, and roster. Leigh Torrence is receiving a lot of praise filling in as the #3 CB so far. If Rogers can start the season on the active roster Tryon may be CB#5, at best.

ARE isn't as bad as his numbers indicate. He almost never fair catches a punt and tries to turn return everything.

I'm going to look into this. I started started to post my findings but noticed at least one problem with the NFL.com data, so I'll try to figure that out before looking into it too much. But, a preliminary look at the data shows a very, very weak correlation between FC and return average over the last two years. They really don't appear to have much connection at all. And, surprisingly, the little correlation they do have is negative (the more FC you have, the lower your average).

I'm only basing my opinion on watching the games, and it just seems that if you took out the number of times he didn't call a fair catch and got hit immedilately his average would be much higher.

Right. I agree. It seems like that should be the case. I'm going to look into this more tomorrow...just because I'm curious.

 

[Mr Capicollo]

It'll be nice to see someone push Randle El for the PR job. He was pretty bad last year. Only Keenan McCardell's extremely pathetic PR attempts could make Randle El's 2007 season look good.

Agreed. I'm rooting for Tryon to show some good stuff in the PR game. He's a burner and if he can be at least as good as Randle El that will save El's legs and get Tryon on the field, and roster. Leigh Torrence is receiving a lot of praise filling in as the #3 CB so far. If Rogers can start the season on the active roster Tryon may be CB#5, at best.

Why do you guys hate Christopher Lowell?

 

[fatness]

I'm only basing my opinion on watching the games, and it just seems that if you took out the number of times he didn't call a fair catch and got hit immedilately his average would be much higher.

Based on my opinion watching the games, his return average would be higher if he caught the ball and immediately headed upfield instead of dancing and juking left and right before actually advancing up the field. He needs to learn that lesson from Rock Cartwright.

 

[fatness]

So now that sadness over Daniels and joy over Jason Taylor have died down ------ how is Jason Taylor against the run? Did we just weaken our run defense?

Opinion in the IDP Forum is that he's solid against the run. That surprised me a little, given his lack of bulk.

Nice breakdown on Taylor from a Dolphins fan, from Extremeskins.

Thank you for that, I feel edumacated now. Um, what's up with Tatum Bell? Did he go the way of redman?

 

[fatness]

Mike Wise's 3-page article on Clinton Portis, a very good read.

"It's exciting to be a father, to have that luxury," Portis said of his infant son, born this offseason. "You never think a child will change you or you can get that much appreciation out of a child. But you look over and see a baby smiling, waking up in the middle of the night, you have to get up and change diapers and all that, it makes you appreciate being a father so much more.

"It makes you understand what your parents went through or the people who kept you went through, how many requirements it takes to maintain a child and let you know it's really not about you anymore. You have a mouth to feed now." Portis declined to release the baby boy's name or the mother's name, citing privacy concerns. "Just put I enjoy being a father, you don't have to put nothing about the child's name out there. Then people are going to be searching for the child's name all of a sudden."

He's been talking up his new teammates and Jim Zorn's offense since training camp began, sounding like a player who was liberated from counter-trey captivity. "Over the past five years I have been playing tough-man football and probably knocked six years off my career," he said. "I don't think people really watch football," Portis added. "Because what we did as a football team was tough. It was tough on all of us. People don't understand how it beats up on your body. They understand the yardage total. They understand how it look. I did what I was asked to do.

"They asked me run into a brick wall with 11 people standing there, I ran into a brick wall with 11 people standing there. Now I got the opportunity to change the scheme. I feel good, I look good and I'm excited about it."

The sacrifice to play in Gibbs's offense, he said, also helped him understand something about himself. "What Coach Gibbs did for me was to make me grow up and understand everything in life ain't goin' be fine and dandy," Portis said. "There's going to be hard times, there's going to be battles and you got to fight through them. You not going to win every battle, but you going to fight every battle. What that instilled in me is the confidence to know I never gave up and I never would give up.

 

[thayman]

I'm only basing my opinion on watching the games, and it just seems that if you took out the number of times he didn't call a fair catch and got hit immedilately his average would be much higher.

Based on my opinion watching the games, his return average would be higher if he caught the ball and immediately headed upfield instead of dancing and juking left and right before actually advancing up the field. He needs to learn that lesson from Rock Cartwright.

An old roomate of mine was a Steelers fan so I watched a lot of Steelers games when ARE was there, the juking defiinitly served him well then.....here in Washington not so much.....

 

[Mr Capicollo]

So now that sadness over Daniels and joy over Jason Taylor have died down ------ how is Jason Taylor against the run? Did we just weaken our run defense?

Opinion in the IDP Forum is that he's solid against the run. That surprised me a little, given his lack of bulk.

Nice breakdown on Taylor from a Dolphins fan, from Extremeskins.

Thank you for that, I feel edumacated now. Um, what's up with Tatum Bell? Did he go the way of redman?

Coach called a timeout, so I came over for a blow.

 

[Bizkiteer]

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsins...carted_off.html

Devin Thomas, the wide receiver who was the Redskins' first overall pick in the April draft, has suffered what appears to be an injury to his right hamstring and was taken from the field on a cart. He ran down the right sideline for a deep pass from Jason Campbell and fell to the ground as he went for the catch, Jason Reid reports. He was helped up, then the cart was brought onto the field. Thomas, a 6-2, 218-pounder from Michigan State, was a second-round pick.

Created a thread for it, but thought it should be put here too. Looks like camp is more than challenging for us this season. Let's hope it's a hammy and he doesn't miss much time!

 

[dgreen]

Smoot was on The Junkies this morning. I only caught the end of the interview.

He said Zorn and Gibbs are a lot alike in their life philosophy and how they deal with people. Not surprising.

He compared Devin Thomas with Anquan Boldin.

He said Blache is a lot like Gregggggg. The main difference, though, is that Blache lets his position coaches handle a lot more than Gregg. Williams apparently looked over a lot of shoulders.

 

[dgreen]

From Matt Terl:

Possible Bad News

Posted on July 24, 2008 by Matt Terl

After beating a defender but missing the catch (on a well-thrown long ball), rookie WR Devin Thomas went down on the sideline, apparently with some sort of leg injury, and was ultimately taken off on a cart. That much is sure.

This next part is COMPLETELY UNCONFIRMED at this point, but I wasn’t far from the injury when it happened and the chatter about the injury did not sound promising at all. AT all. Again, this is an unconfirmed rumor based on things I overheard.

Don’t necessarily get used to the newsier stuff, but this seemed important to post.

Quick Harris Update

Posted on July 24, 2008 by Matt Terl

Post-practice chatter has it as a hamstring, and possibly not as bad as my intial impressions. We’ll see — I certainly hope so.

 

[dgreen]

Also from Matt Terl a video of a fun QB drill in this morning's practice.

 

[dgreen]

Also from Matt Terl a video of a fun QB drill in this morning's practice.

Follow up:

QBs on the “Barrage”

Posted on July 24, 2008 by Matt Terl

Asked the QBs about the lively pads drill this morning, and specifically about Coach Zorn’s zeal for it.

* Colt Brennan: “We’d done something like that in college, but this was kind of a barrage. I’ve never had six bags thrown at me at one time.”

Was Coach feeling sinister? “Ah, Coach Zorn just always wants to keep it loose and fun. They’re soft bags, and we’ve got these big pads and everything.”

* Todd Collins: “Pretty physical drill for the quarterbacks, don’t you think? The rule was no headshots, but we had a few right up in the facemasks.”

Was Coach feeling sinister? “He was. He was holding that pad up like he was going to put it in someone’s head. He had this little snicker about him….”

* Jason Campbell: “That’s a fun drill, you know? I got a chance to play rush end, so I tried to take full advantage of it.”

Was Coach feeling sinister? “Oh, he was trying to knock us out. He really wanted to put the rock in you.”

I'm starting to like this blog.