1. Yes, the Pro Bowl status of London Fletcher and Lorenzo Alexander was a big topic in the locker room Wednesday. Yes, everyone thinks they were snubbed. But both also were selected as alternates (Fletcher is a first alternate).
Winning helps. The Redskins haven’t done enough of that in the past four years.
“I’ve been on teams where we’ve won 12, 13 games and you look at how many guys are in the Pro Bowl and you say, ‘Hey, they didn’t have Pro Bowl years,’ ” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. “I’ve been on teams that have won obviously not a lot of games and, all of a sudden, you had no players and there’s two or three that are deserving.”
2. While Fletcher is probably deserving – I can’t say that I’ve seen a lot of Brian Urlacher this season – it’s hard for me to really know if Alexander was robbed. It’s hard to pay attention to covermen from other special teams units. So was Alexander more deserving than Chicago’s Corey Graham? Who knows?
But Shanahan said of Alexander, “I haven’t been around a guy that has dominated more on special teams. He’s just relentless.”
That’s high praise, indeed.
3. Shanahan said one reason they released running back Ryan Torain was to prevent Aldrick Robinson from signing elsewhere. Shanahan said another team was interested in signing Robinson off the practice squad.
Robinson is one of nine receivers on the roster though one is return specialist Brandon Banks. Robinson spent the first 15 games on the practice squad.
“It’s been a long time,” Robinson said, “but it’s over now. I’m part of the 53 [man roster]. It feels good.”
As for Torain’s release, Shanahan, who coached him for a season in Denver and two in Washington, said, “You’ve got to make tough decisions sometimes. He still has a chance to play in the [NFL]. He’s proven he can average between four and a half and five yards a carry, but with the depth we have it was best to go in a different direction.”
Torain had no future in Washington beyond this week anyway. I do know some teams were intrigued by Robinson before the final cuts (I talked to one in particular about him). So it’s not a stretch to think someone at this stage might want to get him in their building now and take him to camp next season. Robinson’s speed is desirable. The problem this summer is that he didn’t look like he was as fast as he’s supposed to be. Too much thinking on routes, etc. But he’s also been working a lot on catching punts. I’ll be curious how he looks in that area next summer.
4. Running back Roy Helu was limited in practice Wednesday, but said he was confident about playing Sunday vs. Philadelphia. He sat out last week vs. Minnesota because of toe and knee injuries. The Redskins are down to two running backs– Helu and Evan Royster — after releasing Ryan Torain on Tuesday. It’s hard to imagine them releasing Torain without feeling good about Helu’s chances Sunday. But fullback Darrel Young could play there in a pinch.
5. Others limited in practice Wednesday: right tackle Jammal Brown (hip), end Adam Carriker (chest), linebacker London Fletcher (ankle) and receiver Donte Stallworth (ankle).
6. QB Rex Grossman said his confidence level is at an “all-time high.” He loves playing in this offense, but he also knows 24 turnovers in 12 starts won’t cut it anymore.
“I just need to eliminate the couple bad plays here and there that deter a great performance. I’ve done a lot of good things this year. We’ve done a lot of great things this year. Just the consistency level, the percentage of bad plays need to go down,” he said. “We’ve been putting up a decent amount of points, moving the ball at a consistent pace. It’s just the negative plays – eliminate that, get everybody healthy, [having] the whole offseason for the third-time around, everybody going through everything. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this offense is going to have a great year next year just for the fact that [we’re] getting everybody back healthy and everybody fully understanding what’s going on. It’s just sometimes offenses take a while.”
As for any talk of finding another quarterback, Grossman said, “When I look at my situation, I’m trying to make the best of it at every possible scenario. I’m not fully naive to the situation, but I definitely feel like some things are out of my control. But what I can control, I want to make a case for myself.”
