1. Saw the pictures of QB Rex Grossman and heard the chatter about his, uh, girth. But he doesn’t look much bigger, if at all, than last year. Just think there’s more focus on him this summer so people are noticing that he does not have the best physique. Ironically Grossman’s athleticism was a strength when he came out of Florida. But, a few surgeries later, that’s no longer the case.
2. Grossman has the honor of having thrown the ugliest pass in camp. The ball must have slipped from his hand as he released it; regardless, it ended up to be a wounded duck that traveled about 20 yards and fell 5-10 yards shy of its target.
3. I wish John Beck was more consistent with his passing. He seems to make better throws against a live defense, but he’s also inaccurate without one. Too many passes end up on the ground. But until we see him in a game we really don’t know what he’ll do.
4. Talked about this with a few other reporters on the sideline this morning, but it’s fun to watch Santana Moss run his routes. Moss does a better job of squatting and coming out of his routes than the others in camp. Yes, that’s not a big stretch. But what I also love is how calm he is when he comes out. It enables him to almost go into slow motion when he reaches up for a pass. Yet he hits the ground running. It’s easy to see why he’s lasted this long – and why they wanted him back.
5. Jabar Gaffney is not quite as strong as Moss in this regard, but he’s a very poised route-runner as well. The vets don’t waste a lot of movement in their routes, giving them the ability to focus as much on reading the defense as trying to get open.
6. Aldrick Robinson’s hands are somewhat questionable. Come to think of it, Leonard Hankerson’s hands the past couple days have been iffy. Again, that was the knock on him in college. Coach Mike Shanahan likes how he comes in and out of breaks, but sometimes it seems he’s still having to work hard to stay low and break free. Yes, that’s a function of being 6-foot-2.
7. The impact of Atogwe. Wrote a story on this the other day and here comes a postscript. The lead in that story talked about Atogwe giving some pointers to strong safety Chris Horton on how to defend the bootleg and deep pass the other way. A few days ago Horton let his man get wide open. Atogwe told him he could cheat when he saw that particular formation.
Flash ahead to Friday. The Redskins offense ran that same play and this time Horton played it perfect. Grossman wanted to throw it deep to Fred Davis, but Horton was there and Grossman had to throw it away elsewhere.
8. Oh, by the way, also on that play Jarvis Jenkins would have sacked Grossman. Have I mentioned he looks good?
9. Don’t know if Josh Wilson will be an upgrade at corner or not, but I like the way he moves on the field. He does an excellent job in his backpedal, staying low and ready to pounce when the pass is thrown. He’s very balanced.
10. Here’s a quick scouting report I received about Wilson from someone who worked for a rival team: “I really liked him as a second-round pick, but the game has really changed more and more at that position. Nowadays you simply cannot win with short [corners]. Ideally you’d like to match them up over the slot WR. But offenses do such a great job of locating mismatches that you really cannot hide them. They are especially vulnerable in the red zone. He is at best a third or fourth corner type. Tough little guy.”
11. We shall see. What I also like is the energy he seems to bring to the field.
12. Tim Hightower has fumbled the ball a couple times the first two days. He had a problem with that in Arizona. Hightower should be a good fit, however. He’s done a nice job getting around the end on occasion, but does lack that extra kick.
13. Rookie Markus White has shown his athleticism, but is mostly effective moving forward. He has a ways to go to learn the outside linebacker position after playing end in college. But that’s to be expected for a seventh-rounder. If he develops into a decent special teamer this year or next then that’s all they need.
14. Robinson had a tough time getting away from a jam by corner Reggie Jones; forced an incompletion. The ball was where it needed to be, but Robinson couldn’t break away in time.
15. Terrence Austin showed his quick feet; juked Kevin Barnes by going inside then back outside. Barnes was leaning outside and Austin got open inside. Later, Austin got him on an out and up to get open deep. Barnes struggled on those routes two years ago. …It’ll still be very tough for Austin to make the roster.
16. Artis Hicks was better in the one-on-one work Friday, stopping Kedric Golston on his first attempt. He also stopped Jarvis Jenkins on one matchup, staying low and square. Hicks is much better when he stays low, but it’s a constant battle.
17. This is where I mention that Jenkins went right through him on the next attempt. Jenkins did a good job of getting into Hicks’ body and then peeling off to the inside.
18. In the one-on-one, LT Trent Williams stayed patient against rookie Markus White. Williams let White reveal his moves without forcing the action. When White made his move, Williams reacted easily.
19. Chris Chester was a little better today, as you’d expect. But Adam Carriker still drove him back on one rush.
20. Kory Lichtensteiger was better; did not get moved back as often. He stopped one stunt in a three-on-two drill by shoving Stephen Bowen to the ground. Earlier, Bowen went through Lichtensteiger. The ‘Steiger also kept Bowen out on a rush during 11-on-11 work. And Lichtensteiger slid to his left to pick up a blitzing Lorenzo Alexander later.
21. NT Anthony Bryant had a couple good pushes in the middle against Will Montgomery. Wasn’t dominant, but did get him a couple times. But Montgomery handled him a few plays later.
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