***Official*** Washington Redskins 2014 Offseason Thread (1 Viewer)

[steveski]

Sometimes I forget Desean is on the Redskins. Excited to see this offense.

I keep trying to forget as well.

 

[Ted Mullins]

Pretty good read on the perception of RG3: http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/130936/inside-slant-crushing-robert-griffin-iii

I agree with Seifert here, I think some around the league are why underrating him. Yes, 2013 was not a good year for him, but look at the circumstances. He was coming of an injury, the play around him was subpar and the dysfunction from the top down clearly effected the team. He's now a full year removed from ACL surgery, has a pass happy new HC and 2 new WRs in Jackson and Roberts. Not sure why everything isn't set up for a bounce back year for RG3.

Yeah, I don't have access to the full list and haven't seen it posted anywhere, but I did see RG3 rated really low and was surprised by that. I still like his chances of succeeding - ultimately he seems to have all of the physical tools not just as a runner but as a passer. The concerns seem to be related to improving mentally and reading the field/progressions and everything I've ever heard about him suggests he is smart and has a great work ethic.

FWIW it's important to note that a lot of people will hold up rankings like that as gospel (and I am sure those personnel guys know FAR more than I do), but even experts are going to have biases like their pre-conceived notions and recency effect with him coming off of a messy year.

 

[dgreen]

I'm starting to think Tanard Jackson might have problems.

 

[CapnJB]

I'm starting to think Tanard Jackson might have problems.

I think it's endemic of the team. In the last three years they've had 11 suspensions for violations of the substance abuse policy (with Fred Davis and Jackson with two each).

Someone needs to get the locker room on the right page.

 

[fatness]

About special teams, last year and this year: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins-ben-kotwica-has-players-lining-up-to-join-his-special-forces/2014/07/10/f815e0b4-0616-11e4-8a6a-19355c7e870a_story.html

Special teams play ranked among the lowest of the lowlights during Washington’s 3-13 campaign in 2013.

Keith Burns never could find the right buttons to push as the first-year coordinator who took over for the long-time, well-respected firecracker of a special teams coach, Danny Smith. Burns struggled to find willing participants to round out his units. Some players disagreed with his philosophies and schemes, and that led to arguments in meeting rooms and sometimes on the sidelines. During one heated exchange, Burns challenged a player to fight him.

There was nothing special about Washington’s special teams units. All pride in the units had been lost.

Now in Washington, Kotwica assumes the task of rebuilding the special teams units. During free agency, pursued players who could contribute there, not just on offense or defense.

In the opening days of the shopping period, Washington signed wide receiver Andre Roberts, who will compete as a punt and kick returner, and linebackers Akeem Jordan and Adam Hayward, who had both served as special teams captains for their previous teams.

 

[fatness]

Thanks Gregg Williams.

 

[fatness]

Buried in an article about Jarvis Jenkins is something about Stephen Bowen:

This training camp and preseason, Jenkins has to find a way to stand out. He has Baker and Hatcher ahead of him. He also has Clifton Geathers, Kedric Golston, and presumably Stephen Bowen (if he can make a comeback from microfracture surgery) vying for spots on the depth chart.

If Bowen's competing for a backup spot when (if) he gets healthy, he's making way too much money.

 

[fatness]

Rich Tandler

Seven weeks from today the 53-man roster will be finalized. There could be more surprises than just a two-quarterback look. Early in the offseason Bruce Allen said that he expected there to be 25 players on the roster who are new to the organization.

 

[fatness]

Tandler about Stephen Bown

The Stephen Bowen situation will be interesting to follow. He may or may not be ready for training camp as he continues to recover from knee microfracture surgery he had late last year. If he’s not and he starts off on the PUP list, when will he be ready? When looking at this situation you have to consider his $4.4 million salary and cap number of just over $7 million. Although if they were going to release Bowen or negotiate a reduced salary they probably would have done it by now, either still could happen. The DeSean Jackson deal unexpectedly ate into the salary cap cushion and they still might seek some breathing room.

 

[dgreen]

About special teams, last year and this year: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins-ben-kotwica-has-players-lining-up-to-join-his-special-forces/2014/07/10/f815e0b4-0616-11e4-8a6a-19355c7e870a_story.html

Burns struggled to find willing participants to round out his units.

The way I read this is that it was up to Burns to recruit guys to play ST? That seems stupid. Is it normally up to the ST Coordinator to try to convince players to play ST? I would think the HC would force guys to play where they can help out.

It was awesome that Sean Taylor would play ST. He delivered some huge blows while blocking on punt returns.

 

[fatness]

Training camp opens this week.

 

[MattFancy]

It's football season now!! I'm super pumped about this year. Which is weird because I wasn't that excited last season (guess the RG3 injury put a damper on some excitment). I don't have lofty expectations this year, but I think we could sneak into the playoffs if the cards fall right.

 

[Archer]

Skins should me MUCH better on offense. As always, the defense and special teams is the biggest concerns. Luckily no one in our division can play defense either.

 

[MattFancy]

Skins should me MUCH better on offense. As always, the defense and special teams is the biggest concerns. Luckily no one in our division can play defense either.

Agreed. We'll go as far as the defense takes us. I'm not really worried about the offense. There's plenty to like there with RG3, Morris, Garcon, DJax, Reed and Roberts. I personally think the most important player on offense is Trent Williams. Here's clearly our best OL and I'm not sure what the OL would look like without him.

As for the defense, they'll need to create turnovers to be successful. I don't think we have enough to be a good defense, but if they can just be average, I think that'll be enough. If we can't get pressure on the QB, it could be another long season defensively.

 

[Marvelous]

Tandler about Stephen Bown

The Stephen Bowen situation will be interesting to follow. He may or may not be ready for training camp as he continues to recover from knee microfracture surgery he had late last year. If he’s not and he starts off on the PUP list, when will he be ready? When looking at this situation you have to consider his $4.4 million salary and cap number of just over $7 million. Although if they were going to release Bowen or negotiate a reduced salary they probably would have done it by now, either still could happen. The DeSean Jackson deal unexpectedly ate into the salary cap cushion and they still might seek some breathing room.

I thought they would have cut or reduced Bowen's salary in the off season. Not sure if there is any salary/cap relief if Bowen is on PUP/IR all year.

Chris Cooley thought the chances of Bowen making a recovery ever was not good. He just said big men with microfracture surgery have really poor results.

 

[Marvelous]

Skins should me MUCH better on offense. As always, the defense and special teams is the biggest concerns. Luckily no one in our division can play defense either.

The special teams should be significantly better since it would be very difficult to get worse. I think competent coaching and some emphasis should yield decent special teams. They were comically bad last year.

 

[fatness]

Reasons for pessimism

I have a hard time arguing with any of Keim's reasons. Especially this one.

6. The Redskins' defense under Jim Haslett has not fared well. During his tenure from 2010 to 2013, the Redskins are cumulatively 29th in yards per play (5.75), 31st in yards per pass attempt (7.22), 21st in yards after contact (5,016) and 27th in points per game (25.2), according to ESPN Stats & Information. They're in the top half on third downs (16th) and red zone efficiency (15th), but overall the defense has to improve drastically. How much will it help Haslett to, finally, have complete say in the defense, from who his coaches are to the play calling? We're about to find out. Over the years when I've talked to people around the NFL about Haslett, I get split opinions: Some really like him and his style. Others call his defense too boom-or-bust. The Redskins clearly didn't blame him for all the defensive woes. Now his defense must reward that faith.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Four players start training camp on the PUP list:

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden confirmed Wednesday that four players -- defensive ends Stephen Bowenand Jason Hatcher, wide receiver Leonard Hankerson and offensive lineman Maurice Hurt -- will begin training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Reasons for pessimism

I have a hard time arguing with any of Keim's reasons. Especially this one.

6. The Redskins' defense under Jim Haslett has not fared well. During his tenure from 2010 to 2013, the Redskins are cumulatively 29th in yards per play (5.75), 31st in yards per pass attempt (7.22), 21st in yards after contact (5,016) and 27th in points per game (25.2), according to ESPN Stats & Information. They're in the top half on third downs (16th) and red zone efficiency (15th), but overall the defense has to improve drastically. How much will it help Haslett to, finally, have complete say in the defense, from who his coaches are to the play calling? We're about to find out. Over the years when I've talked to people around the NFL about Haslett, I get split opinions: Some really like him and his style. Others call his defense too boom-or-bust. The Redskins clearly didn't blame him for all the defensive woes. Now his defense must reward that faith.

To be fair (and Keim mentions this in his follow-up, Reasons for Hope post; see excerpt below) we know Haslett hasn't had complete autonomy as DC since he's been here. Now that he has it, this should be a "put up, or shut up" type year for him.

Jim Haslett can finally run the defense the way he wants. Granted, it became too convenient to blame a lot on Shanahan, as if his input always was wrong. However, Haslett didn't have much say in the hiring of his assistants, as he did this offseason. He hired better coaches than the ones he had previously (Baker, Kirk Olivadotti). Haslett is an experienced coordinator and has a clear idea on what he wants to do. He now has more pieces in the pass rush to perhaps give a greater variety of looks. Time to produce.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Sometimes I forget Desean is on the Redskins. Excited to see this offense.

Keim's "What to Expect" posts re: Jackson (in two parts) should get any fan excited, if they weren't already. Between him Garcon and Reed, you have guys that can beat 1-on-1 coverage regularly. So who do you double and/or give safety help? And with those 3 being the top receiving options you'll get the likes of Andre Roberts or Aldrick Robinson against #3 or 4 CBs, which are also winnable match-ups, more often than not.

 

[VaTerp]

Reasons for pessimism

I have a hard time arguing with any of Keim's reasons. Especially this one.

6. The Redskins' defense under Jim Haslett has not fared well. During his tenure from 2010 to 2013, the Redskins are cumulatively 29th in yards per play (5.75), 31st in yards per pass attempt (7.22), 21st in yards after contact (5,016) and 27th in points per game (25.2), according to ESPN Stats & Information. They're in the top half on third downs (16th) and red zone efficiency (15th), but overall the defense has to improve drastically. How much will it help Haslett to, finally, have complete say in the defense, from who his coaches are to the play calling? We're about to find out. Over the years when I've talked to people around the NFL about Haslett, I get split opinions: Some really like him and his style. Others call his defense too boom-or-bust. The Redskins clearly didn't blame him for all the defensive woes. Now his defense must reward that faith.

It is hard to argue any of the reasons Keim laid out but in fairness he could have easily combined some of the 4 concerns that talk about the defense. And it's easy to point out the negatives for a team coming off a 3-13 season and a first year HC.

Personally, I'm much more optimistic about the Skins than I've been in a long time. I won't sit here in July and say this is a playoff team but I think what we see on Sundays will be a considerable improvement from last season and have a good vibe about the direction the franchise is heading with Gruden, and to a lesser extent, Allen. The defense is still a major concern and there are the obvious questions on RGIII's development but there are a lot of reasons to feel better about this team than at any point last season IMO.

I had planned to go to my hometown of Richmond of this weekend but now won't be able to make it. But I'm excited about camp and the developments leading into the season. On a side note, I never paid all that much attention to Chris Russell. I've thought he's had some decent info through tweets and other things in the past. But after this offseason, and listening to him on the radio today, I think he's an annoying windbag and a steamy pile of you know what. That is all.

 

[Sidewinder16]

First training camp practice is over. A couple of tweets regarding (potential) new job responsibilities:

Tarik El-Bashir ‏@TarikCSN 2m

More
Andre Roberts on being first team punt and kickoff returner to open camp: "Right now I’m on top. But we’ll see." Says things could change.

Dianna Marie Russini ‏@NBCdianna 6m

More
So no London Fletcher ...then who is wearing the earpiece on defense to call out defenses? Keenan Robinson #Redskins

 

[Sidewinder16]

The OL starters yesterday (no surprises) were LT - Williams, LG - Lauvao, C - Lichtensteiger, RG - Chester, RT - Polumbus.

Working the 2nd and 3rd strings were:

—Here is your second-team offensive line from right to left:

• Tom Compton
• Spencer Long
• Mike McGlynn
• Josh LeRibeus
• Morgan Moses

—Your third-team OL, also right to left:

• Compton
• Kevin Kowalski
• Tevita Stevens
• Adam Gettis
• Moses

There are only four tackles in camp so Compton and Moses pull double duty.

 

[MattFancy]

I'm excited to see Keenan Robinson in the preseason action. Sounds like nothing but good things are coming out about him.

 

[VaTerp]

Trent Williams off-season workout regiment. I like the sound of this- “My first offseason Adrian Peterson kind of took me under his wing and kind of showed me the ropes,” he said. “I just try to follow that game plan every summer.”

http://www.csnwashington.com/redskinsblog/redskins-williams-learned-workout-regime-adrian-peterson

 

[Swing 51]

Trent Williams off-season workout regiment. I like the sound of this- “My first offseason Adrian Peterson kind of took me under his wing and kind of showed me the ropes,” he said. “I just try to follow that game plan every summer.”

http://www.csnwashington.com/redskinsblog/redskins-williams-learned-workout-regime-adrian-peterson

Trent Murphy prepared for training camp by throwing water heaters

“They do this strong man circuit,” he explained. “They set up water heaters, and then you have to run through the water heaters and knock them all over, [then] flip a tire down, sledge hammer [the tire]. And then you do a farmer’s walk with two water heaters, and throw a water heater over your shoulder, run like 50 yards and then throw it as far as you can. So that’s a little Strongman — Plumbing Edition workout.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/07/24/trent-murphy-prepared-for-training-camp-by-throwing-water-heaters/

What a bunch of maniacs.

 

[VaTerp]

Trent Williams off-season workout regiment. I like the sound of this- “My first offseason Adrian Peterson kind of took me under his wing and kind of showed me the ropes,” he said. “I just try to follow that game plan every summer.”

http://www.csnwashington.com/redskinsblog/redskins-williams-learned-workout-regime-adrian-peterson

Trent Murphy prepared for training camp by throwing water heaters

“They do this strong man circuit,” he explained. “They set up water heaters, and then you have to run through the water heaters and knock them all over, [then] flip a tire down, sledge hammer [the tire]. And then you do a farmer’s walk with two water heaters, and throw a water heater over your shoulder, run like 50 yards and then throw it as far as you can. So that’s a little Strongman — Plumbing Edition workout.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/07/24/trent-murphy-prepared-for-training-camp-by-throwing-water-heaters/

What a bunch of maniacs.

Like many I was not enamored with the Murphy pick when it happened but since then there has not been a single thing not to like about the guy. He brings a needed mentality to the defense, and the entire team, and I hope/think he'll be a significant contributor on Sundays.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Are locals and Redskins fans feeling this is an offense that can have multiple value players this year?

Grffin

Garcon

Jackson

Reed

Morris

It just seems like an awful lot to go around and maybe the pendulum has swung too far. Anyone feel that any one or more of these might actually be overvalued as we begin our drafts?

Morris perhaps?

 

[PinkydaPimp]

Are locals and Redskins fans feeling this is an offense that can have multiple value players this year?

Grffin

Garcon

Jackson

Reed

Morris

It just seems like an awful lot to go around and maybe the pendulum has swung too far. Anyone feel that any one or more of these might actually be overvalued as we begin our drafts?

Morris perhaps?

Morris should get his.

PPR Garcon should get lots of receptions

Jackson should be more boom or bust in his role like he was in philly.

Reed should see lots of work in the red zone

and obviously if these all come together that means a big year for RGIII.

having said all that typically teams with many options the player who has a big day will change based on the game plan or what the opposing defense gives us and i envision that being the same here.

 

[fatness]

To be fair (and Keim mentions this in his follow-up, Reasons for Hope post; see excerpt below) we know Haslett hasn't had complete autonomy as DC since he's been here. Now that he has it, this should be a "put up, or shut up" type year for him.

While I think Haslett should have been fired last year, I'm willing to give him one year of the complete authority over the defense that he wants. Then I'll either give him credit for a good job or join a rather big chorus of "fire him" among Redskin fans. He's never been a good defensive coordinator anywhere, and he's out of excuses in Washington now. You don't continue sinking a team trying to give a coordinator one more chance.

 

[fatness]

I'm excited to see Keenan Robinson in the preseason action. Sounds like nothing but good things are coming out about him.

If he's healthy he'll easily outperform Fletcher on the field. Fletcher's play had become a big liability. Had he not been relied upon so much for leadership he would have been benched way before he retired.

 

[fatness]

Like many I was not enamored with the Murphy pick when it happened but since then there has not been a single thing not to like about the guy. He brings a needed mentality to the defense, and the entire team, and I hope/think he'll be a significant contributor on Sundays.

Actually there's something pretty important to not like about him so far --- he gets sealed off on the outside because he's slow. The guy supposedly works incredibly hard and has more moves than many current Redskins. But he's slow, and there's little he or anyone can do to compensate for that. Other teams will zero in on it and take advantage.

 

[fatness]

Are locals and Redskins fans feeling this is an offense that can have multiple value players this year?

Grffin

Garcon

Jackson

Reed

Morris

It just seems like an awful lot to go around and maybe the pendulum has swung too far. Anyone feel that any one or more of these might actually be overvalued as we begin our drafts?

Morris perhaps?

The offensive line will dictate how well the offensive players perform. Watching the O-line in training camp and pre-season will tell you more about the performance of skill position players than anything else.

Morris will get his yards and TD's though. If the line is bad he'll get more runs. If the line is good and opens up the passing game he'll get fewer runs and a higher YPC. He'll get TD's either way, he's their best goalline back by a mile.

 

[fatness]

Stuff from Jay Gruden

On if a conversation he had with quarterback Robert Griffin III after an interception this morning was related to the new scheme or just basic adjustments:

“That’s basic adjustments… It’s seeing things. They gave us a little disguise in the coverage. They blitzed off that side and DeAngelo [Hall] was a roll-up corner and Robert just thought that our first progression, Jordan [Reed], was covered and he wasn’t. You’ve just got to see through the progression a little bit, stay on it a little bit longer and was a little bit antsy and then fired it out there to DeSean [Jackson] and DeSean stopped his route and DeAngelo jumped it. So it was a combination of a lot of things, but that’s going to happen from time to time and we just have got to fight through it. He’s just got to stick with his No. 1 progression a little bit longer and everything would have been fine.”

On if practice has been more physical and intense than in past years:

“I don’t know, I just like the competition. I think it’s very important for the defense to give the offense the best look possible and vice versa. We can’t do that if we are just muddling around playing buddy football. So it’s very important to look at our players, our scheme, in order to look at your scheme and players and coach it up properly, we have got to have people playing at full speed with good pad level. Fundamentals in football come with good pad level and if you don’t have a good pad level then you’re not teaching good fundamentals. If you have good pad level then it’s going to be physical and that’s the way it is. Low man wins – we know that. If you have competition and you have good pad level then it’s going to be physical. We will taper off, like I said, if it becomes too physical. We got to try to control it sometimes. We had tempers flare a little bit today, which will happen from time to time. But very important for the line of scrimmage, and it’s my belief that the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively is the most important phase in football. You protect your quarterback, you can open up running lanes, if you get after the quarterback and can stop the run, you’re going to win more times than you lose. That’s a fact.”

On how happy he is to avoid negative headlines about relationships between coaches and players thus far into training camp:

“We are going to have are rifts from time to time and we are going to try to keep those in-house. I’m sure for whatever reason they got exposed last year with the media. I think anytime you have a disagreement with a player, I think it’s between the player and coach and hopefully that stays that way. When we talk to the media, we will talk about the team. If you ask a question about a certain player, I’ll answer it. But any disagreement we have, we’ve got to clear it up within ourselves and then we’ll talk to y’all. But it’s so far it’s been clean. It’s early – we haven’t lost a game yet and I’m sure once the bullets start flying, there will be some controversy from time to time. It’s important for us to handle it like men and take care of it in-house.”

LOL, he just called Shanahan a girl.

On if he has talked to safety Brandon Meriweather about his style of play:

“That’s a good point and Brandon, he plays a very physical style of football. That’s all he knows. But there is a rule now obviously and he’s had to pay the price for it. And he understands the next one is going to be a longer suspension. We talked about that today, actually. I told him he is going to get a two-practice suspension if he doesn’t lower his target. He’s a good football player. He’s tough, he’s physical, he wants to do the right thing but sometimes at that position though and the ball is in the air, he’s trying to knock the ball out and sometimes they unfortunately make contact head-to-head and it’s not intentional. I don’t think he has the intent to injure people. I think he has the intent to get the player down and get the ball out. Sometimes those instances look worse than they are but he does have to really watch his area of target and hopefully we will keep him on the field for 16 weeks because he is much needed in the secondary.”

On defensive end Chris Baker’s growth this year:

“His mouth is growing, too. He talks a lot [laughter]. He is a fun guy to be around. He’s excited to play. He’s one of those guys that you can tell once practice starts, he’s having a great time and he loves football and that’s half the battle.

I know it's early and absolutely nothing has been proven yet, but I like everything I'm hearing from Gruden. He doesn't dodge questions, he corrects players when they're wrong, he understand the importance of line play, he has a good sense of humor. Whether he's up to challenging his coordinators when things go bad remains to be seen, especially Haslett.

There's a lot more good stuff in that article by the way.

 

[fatness]

If you're not aware, weekday mornings from 8 to 11 John Keim and Chris Russell have a show on ESPN 980 about training camp. Nothing but Redskins stuff. Great show. And it really displays what Keim knows. The disparity between him and Russell in terms of how much information is given is pretty wide.

 

[fatness]

John Keim @john_keim · 37m

Clark: "All we hear every meeting when we watch the blitz tape is Jason Hatcher say, 'We don't have to blitz.' "

John Keim @john_keim · 38m

Ryan Clark: "I get talked a lot about leadership... I'm just old."

 

[fatness]

About today's camp session.

More of the one-on-one drills featuring the offensive line against the defensive line. The Redskins' players expect more physical practices so I assume they’ll do this drill two days in a row. Anyway, rookie Morgan Moses showed he has some work to do, though; if you’ve read me at all you should know that already. But I’m curious to see rookie linebacker Trent Murphy again in this drill. He has a good spin move, but he has to learn how to work it against NFL talent. He’s the sort of player who learns from mistakes and he made one in this drill Saturday, leading to an easy block by Moses. How will Murphy respond on his next spin attempt?

John Keim @john_keim · 2h

Some pass rushers working on a fake spin move in one on one drills. Not working.

 

[fatness]

Keim's training camp reports are here: http://search.espn.go.com/john-keim/

Player's who seem to be doing well so far:

Lichtensteiger (at center)

Ryan Grant (rookie WR)

Amerson

 

[Milkman]

Oh boy our draft class is starting to look worse than i originally thought.

 

[fatness]

Dianna Marie Russini ‏@NBCdianna 30m

DeSean Jackson most impressed by RG3's accountability. "Makes mistakes. Sees it. Improves it. It's fixed."

 

[Milkman]

I mean if Moses sucks (he does btw) and Murphy can't beat Moses then how terrible is Murphy. Ugh.

 

[fatness]

Mike Jones @MikeJonesWaPo · 44m

Clark says that in talks w Meriweather he's talked about finding balance between playing physical and being smart to avoid fines, suspension

Mike Jones @MikeJonesWaPo · 51m

Meriweather actually interrupted interview to bring in fan, who wanted Clark to autograph his arm.

 

[fatness]

Mike Jones twitter feed: https://twitter.com/MikeJonesWaPo

Mike Jones columns (he covers the Skins pretty well) http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/mike-jones

 

[fatness]

I mean if Moses sucks (he does btw) and Murphy can't beat Moses then how terrible is Murphy. Ugh.

It's early, don't get too worried. Murphy just ran down Moss on a reverse.

Mike Jones @MikeJonesWaPo · 3h

Coaches continue to praise progress rookie OLB Trent Murphy is making. Just ran Moss down from behind on reverse. Only short gain.

 

[fatness]

Jay Gruden on a mission: I know its in the past, but we dont do 3-13. We practice like its game day: Full Pads!

Jay Gruden expects tomorrow to be the most physical, toughest practice here at camp. Says this weather is helping the defense

 

[fatness]

● Today marked the first one-on-one drills between offensive linemen and defensive linemen. The pass rushers appeared to have the edge today. Ryan Kerrigan bested Tyler Polumbus in their head-to-head matchups. Brandon Jenkins, on one play when going against Tom Compton, started to the outside then slipped to the inside and beat the block. Later, while going against Morgan Moses on the other side, Jenkins couldn’t get around the rookie tackle, and linebackers coach Brian Baker chastised Jenkins for missing an opportunity to go to his counter-move.

● The marquee matchup, of course, featured Pro Bowl players Brian Orakpo and Trent Williams. Williams appeared to get the better of Orakpo in their first matchup, keeping the linebacker from getting past him on a bull-rush attempt. Baker praised Orakpo’s execution, however, and Williams argued that it was him that had gotten the best of his opponent since Orakpo hadn’t gotten by him. Baker pointed to how far into the backfield (and path of the quarterback) Orakpo had moved Williams, though. On the next time around, Williams erased all doubt and bested Orakpo with a pancake block when the linebacker tried to dip underneath.


● Defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins won his battle with rookie Spencer Long. The Nebraska product needs to get a little stronger, as he couldn’t fend off Jenkins’s power rush.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2014/07/26/redskins-training-camp-observations-from-day-3/

 

[fatness]

Chris Baker

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Keim's training camp reports are here: http://search.espn.go.com/john-keim/

Player's who seem to be doing well so far:

Lichtensteiger (at center)

Ryan Grant (rookie WR)

Amerson

Loved Ryan Grant at Tulane fwiw, local favorite.

 

[fatness]

Brandon Jenkins did quite poorly in today's 1-on-1's and got cut. http://www.csnwashington.com/redskinsblog/redskins-waive-2013-fifth-round-pick

Second-year linebacker Brandon Jenkins was waived by the Redskins on Sunday after getting off to a poor start in training camp.

When the Florida State product was drafted in the fifth round last year, the Redskins believed they had gotten a steal in the 6 foot 2, 254-pound Jenkins.

As it turned out, he was anything but.

Jenkins recorded one tackle—an assist—in six games last season. He rarely made it onto the field in the second half of the season because he was unable to contribute on special teams.

Jenkins had a particularly poor effort in Sunday morning’s one-on-one battle drills and was cut shortly thereafter.

 

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http://www.csnwashington.com/redskinsblog/gruden-mondays-practice-could-feature-live-hitting

Jay Gruden did not specify exactly what caused the Redskins to cut second-year linebacker Brandon Jenkins on Sunday, but the coach did indicate that the decision was performance related.

“We decided to make a move with Brandon and move forward with our football team,” Gruden said. “We like the play of the guys who are behind him. They have stepped up their play -- Adrian Robinson, Gabe Miller and, obviously, the drafting of Trent Murphy had a major impact. We thought the earlier we make that move would give Brandon a chance somewhere else.”

Jenkins, a fifth-round draft pick last year, had a poor start to training camp that was underscored by weak effort in Sunday morning's practice.

Jenkins is the second Mike Shanahan draft pick cut by Gruden. The other was running back Jawan Jamison in March.

Some other highlights from Gruden’s news conference:

• Gruden said the team’s practice Monday morning will be in full pads. “We’re going to go full pads tomorrow, pants included,” Gruden said. “We might do some ‘live’ drills ... Might be some tackling involved.”
• Gruden has also cancelled Monday’s afternoon walkthrough. “We’ll have a dinner and then I’ll probably give them off that night,” Gruden said. “Get away from everybody. It’s been a grind. When you’ve been around the same guys for five days in a row for about 18 hours a day, you get tired of looking at them. I’m tired of looking at them.”