1. Yes, there has to be concern over Brandon Banks’ left knee, which forced him out of practice Tuesday and will sideline him Friday. The knee has bothered him all summer and it wouldn’t be surprising if this is something that lingers for a while. There’s no way of knowing, but it’s just a bad sign for now.
2. QB John Beck made a couple nice throws today and looked better than he did Monday. His inconsistency is a little maddening, but, anyway, he threw a nice ball over the top of corner Reggie Jones, right into Santana Moss’ arms. Beck and Rex Grossman split reps with the starters, as they have done and will continue to do. One thing I’d like to see is Beck complete a few deep balls; Grossman did today, including one to Anthony Armstrong. Incidentally, do I think this competition was over before it started? No; talked to several players today who said the one thing they’ve learned about Mike Shanahan is that he’s fair – and not all these players are starters, either. Some have lost competitions. But do I think he likes Beck more? Yeah.
3. Yes, Beck will start and it’s about time we get a chance to see what he can do in this offense having been in it for a year. It makes this preseason game an intriguing one. You may have an idea of what you think he can do, but nobody knows for sure. I’ve talked to several people, whom I respect, who like him (but only as a decent starter). And maybe Shanahan is crazy, but I can’t imagine he’d stake his reputation on a guy who he thinks will stink. Finally, though, we’ll start to get answers.
4. Having said all that, Grossman threw the ball OK today. Again, you can see the anticipation he has from playing in this offense for three years now and having played with Santana Moss and Jabar Gaffney. He delivered a bullet to Moss in traffic, just in front of Reed Doughty. A good, fast throw. Then he threw a strike to Leonard Hankerson against Kevin Barnes and Chris Horton; Hankerson made a nice catch in traffic. Still wonder if Grossman doesn’t throw too much off his backfoot. But I did like how he threw from a different arm angle this morning; with the rush bearing in on him, he whipped a sidearm pass under a pass-rusher’s arm to Keiland Williams for a completion in the right flat.
5. Hankerson had another strong day. It’ll be up and down with him, but the last two days have definitely been up. He did have one bobbled pass, but he hung onto it.
6. Also liked that Aldrick Robinson made a nice grab along the sidelines. He reached out and grabbed it as he sprinted to the sidelines, getting both feet in bounds. By the way, Robinson and Hankerson spent a decent amount of time on the field after practice again.
7. Jammal Brown is not looking like a Pro Bowl player, but he is doing better than a year ago. Can see it in the one-on-ones. Now, he was only going vs. Markus White but last year if a defender would get into him and spin inside, it would work. Not today; White tried it and Brown moved his feet to recover inside. Yes, White is not a starter but he is athletic. But Lorenzo Alexander did go around Brown in an 11-on-11 drill. And Ryan Kerrigan got past him early in practice. So maybe I shouldn’t get too excited about Brown. That said, his feet are moving better; last year there were times he couldn’t move them.
8. Chris Chester was a little better in the one-on-ones; much better leverage. Saw it against b, who had routinely beaten him in the past, and then vs. my guy Doug Worthington. Chester had better knee bend and pushed Worthington to the ground. Ah, but Darrion Scott did get inside him in a full-team drill.
9. Oh, yeah, the fight between DeAngelo Hall and Horton. Not exactly Hagler vs. Hearns. But they did tussle. Over what? Who knows. Hall said it had nothing to do with a coverage breakdown by Horton, but my hunch is that this is what happened. Hall got upset with Horton on a play in practice last week and, to be honest, Horton has been bad in coverage. His angles have been off and he hasn’t looked very fast. But Hall needs to be smarter; he, too, has been beaten a bit too often. And if he wants to be considered a team leader, should he be fighting guys? Better ways to handle this.
10. That said, Horton was beaten again shortly after the fight by tight end Fred Davis. Again: slow and a tough angle. Grossman hit him for the completion.
11. Rookie safety DeJon Gomes should be the beneficiary of Horton’s struggles (though Horton has worked more at free and Gomes at strong). Wouldn’t be surprised if he gets more action earlier in the game than he did last week. Certainly not with the starters, but I’d like to see him against the Colts primary backups. For now he could be a decent backup as an in-the-box safety. Kid plays tough. But there’s a ton to learn about coverages and that’s what will take a while.
12. Rob Jackson just went right past left tackle Sean Locklear. That is not Locklear’s natural position; and he struggled when playing it in Seattle. Not sure that it will change here.
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