WEx: Redskins Confidential Redskins practice report: Aug. 7 /RGIII Report: Aug. 7

[Califan007 The Constipated]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/redskins-practice-report-aug.-7/article/2504309

3. Pierre Garcon dropped two passes during a session with the quarterbacks. Yes, that was his reputation in Indianapolis. The Redskins view him differently.

“I’m very impressed with how he handled himself,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “He has speed and explosion. He’ll block. He’s competitive. He has great hands. He will definitely be a big time receiver for our team. He is everything we’re hoping for.”

4. Tight end Chris Cooley did not practice as Shanahan gave him the day off. Cooley, of course, missed the final 11 games because of a knee injury last season. He must prove he can stay healthy and, just as important, that he can contribute. One Redskins source said Cooley will play a lot this preseason as they want to see how his knee holds up.

Anyway, about today, Shanahan said: “He wasn’t complaining about anything. He could have practiced. In fact, he came up to me and said ‘Hey, I don’t need the day off,’ so you can kind get an idea of his mindset. I just thought it was in his best interest to kind of recuperate a little bit before he plays in the game.”

6. Defensive end Stephen Bowen shed a Maurice Hurt block to make a stop of Roy Helu. Hurt later looked slow getting to the second level; not a lot of explosion. But Hurt is sitting lower at the snap; can usually tell if it’s a run or a pass by how heavy he sets. That’s true of a lot of linemen, but definitely with him in practice.

7. Anyway, even in scout team work Hurt struggled. Doug Worthington drove him a yard or so back on a stretch zone to the right. Chris Baker moved him back on the next play before stopping (scout team work again).

8. Worthington drove into James Lee on another snap and moved him back. It would have helped had Lee not had his feet so close together. Ugh.

10. Highlight of the day for Santana Moss? A quick catch over the middle from Robert Griffin III, beating rookie corner Richard Crawford. Moss sped downfield for a score with Crawford in pursuit. At the end of the run, Moss could be heard yelling, “Bye! Bye! Sayonara!” Moss beat Crawford inside from the slot when the rookie lost leverage.

11. Receiver Brandon Banks continues to have a strong camp at receiver. Entering the preseason games it’s clear that Banks belongs on the roster – now he must prove it in the games. He’s hard to jam off the line because of his quick feet, leading to catches in the intermediate area. Tuesday, he caught a deep ball from Rex Grossman by making a leaping adjustment vs. second-year corner Brandyn Thompson. He later made a diving catch. If Banks shows his explosiveness again on returns it’ll be tough to keep him off the roster.

13. Tight end Niles Paul made the highlight catch of the day, a diving one-handed grab with his left hand. Ah, very good. But here’s what I also liked: He lined up in the Tiger (or H-back) position and went through the line and collided with linebacker Keenan Robinson. A physical block and the sort he’ll have to make often from this spot.

14. Watched Jarvis Jenkins a little more today just to see how he did. Still not seeing the same explosiveness, but there were times when it seemed like he got a little too high off the snap. I remember last summer Jenkins needed to do a better job of bending his knees off the snap, so this is something to watch Thursday.

15. Also watched more of rookie left tackle Tom Compton Tuesday. He didn’t face anyone of real note, but he did look fine. Saw him drive rookie Keenan Robinson off the ball on a stretch zone to the left. He also did a good job picking up a stunt a couple plays later with Nick Martinez. Later, Compton buried Delvin Johnson on a run. When Compton faces better players he still struggles – Darrion Scott got into him and Compton was too upright — but he’s doing more than holding his own vs. lesser players. It’s a start.

16. Saw an example of the jams by Kevin Barnes that the coaches like. He got a good one on Pierre Garcon. Those long arms give him an edge in this area, especially against bigger receivers.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/rgiii-report-aug.-7/article/2504289

1. Though Griffin hasn’t always looked sharp it’s way too early to think anything other than this: He’s a rookie. Yes, you’d love to see a guy come in and instantly be on-target all the time. But that’s asking a lot for a rookie quarterback. Keep in mind, too, that when Griffin has held the ball too long more often than not it’s on straight drop-backs from under center (and off fakes). He rarely did this in college. He rarely had to make reads the way he’s asked to do now. There are many parts of the game that are new to him.

2. The Redskins need to get him ready for the drop-back game. There’s the thing. We don’t always know the intentions of the plays in practice. We just see the end results. So we see a guy struggling to get rid of the ball in certain looks. Even if the coaches see this it may not have the same impact. They’ll adjust their play-calls accordingly. It’s likely that Griffin will have issues with this during games (and a banged-up line needs him to make fast decisions). It’s also likely that they’ll try to get some rhythm going for him Thursday (and protect him) with a lot of quick throws. He looked better in practice Tuesday, though it was typically vs. the second defense or the scout team. In warm-ups he was better. In the 11-on-11 and scout team work he was more relaxed and decisive with his throws. Not as much play-action fakes either. Yes, a lot of quick throws. Also, the Redskins clearly will do what Carolina did and incorporate as much as they can from Griffin’s Baylor days. They’re not going to put him in positions to fail. Not if they like their jobs.

3. I don’t know what sort of pro Griffin eventually will become. I don’t know if he’ll always have trouble holding the ball too long. I do know that he’s: smart, talented and works hard. The Redskins aren’t blowing smoke when they discuss his work ethic. Players privately rave about how Griffin works. “You can tell whatever time he had away from here, he was taking care of business,” receiver Santana Moss said. Another veteran said, “His work ethic is phenomenal. A lot of people were in the lounge the other day; he’s studying.”

4. And that’s the one group of people you can’t fool, your teammates. Two years ago Donovan McNabb had the outside world fooled perhaps, but not players at Redskins Park. They saw immediately that he struggled with the plays (I’d heard rumors from league sources about his difficult picking up the offense by mid-August). One veteran said, “Oh, you see it too?” when talking about the difference between Griffin and McNabb’s approach and practice success. Griffin hasn’t tried to fool anyone; he’s done what’s asked.

[SWFLSkins]

Good things, Bad things, sounds like camp to me.

[RSanz]

I can't help but feel like much of the feedback about Griffin this training camp has been...pretty lukewarm. Nothing sensational; nothing horrible. Just "meh."

I hope he shows something on Thursday night.

[superozman]

When is the report from??

sorry! - but thank you for posting. Keep the notes short and sweet and no overreaction, it's only camp! Just excitted for a game tomorrow.

[Die Hard]

Good things, Bad things, sounds like camp to me.

There`s no formula for camp

For instance, I`ve seen camps where people have raved about specific players..... and then they don`t show up for preseason games. Then fans begin to question the quality of our football team if they can only perform highly against our own team. Or the same with the offensive and defensive units.

Another example. You get the sense of how the offense has struggled in camp. You get the sense that the defense is dominating. Now the talk is of a top 5-10 unit on defense. People are excited. And despite all this goodwill building up of 2 weeks of dominant defense.... if the Bills put up 28+ points tomorrow.... everything will return back to square one. Undoing literally 2 weeks of positive energy.

So whether it`s all good or all bad.... or partially good and bad... unless the offense AND the defense can dominate at the same time -- which is a formula that can NEVER be achieved -- then one must accept that a typical football fan is never going to be happy. They don`t have the capacity to be happy... because they`ve sabotaged themselves so they can`t enjoy the damn game.

Myself, I understand that there is an objective here for teaching RG3. It`s not necessarily set up for him to succeed in practice... but they are preparing him for the games when the bullets are real. And when you are truly challenging someone that intensely, you can`t expect them to have it mastered. The goal IS to make it as difficult as possible right now. It`s fine if people wish to observe the process.... but they should reserve judgment. And probably for another 2-3 years at that.

[Reic]

I can't help but feel like much of the feedback about Griffin this training camp has been...pretty lukewarm. Nothing sensational; nothing horrible. Just "meh."

I hope he shows something on Thursday night.

In comparison, how much have we heard about Andrew Luck since he was drafted? Granted he is not on this team, but there havent exactly been reports of him blowing up the field yet either

[sQuijeW]

1. ...Keep in mind, too, that when Griffin has held the ball too long more often than not it’s on straight drop-backs from under center (and off fakes). He rarely did this in college. He rarely had to make reads the way he’s asked to do now. There are many parts of the game that are new to him.

jason campbell anybody?

how is this not a worry about BobGriff - rarely has there been comparisons of him to JC17 in this aspect... let's hope he does not turn out that way

[Renegade7]

With the line the way it is and his lack of experience with dropbacks, I wouldn't be shocked to see a lot of RG3 shotgun formations starting off. Spreading defenses out and leaving the possibility of a designed run will help make big plays. I'm gonna look at jumbo packages for Thursday's game. Are we going to be predictable and try to run everytime we bunch up like that? Is Griffin going to be able to get passes off on 2-3 step drops? More importantly, can Griffin make the adjustments at the line needed to save his life that Rex, Beck and JC couldn't?

Too early to tell, but that's what I'm looking for this preseason and for year one. I'm fully prepared for him to play like a rookie, but all he has to do is throw less ints then the last guy and we're a better football team automaticly.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

When is the report from??

sorry! - but thank you for posting. Keep the notes short and sweet and no overreaction, it's only camp! Just excitted for a game tomorrow.

Yeah, I corrected that lol ...

---------- Post added August-8th-2012 at 07:11 AM ----------

jason campbell anybody?

how is this not a worry about BobGriff - rarely has there been comparisons of him to JC17 in this aspect... let's hope he does not turn out that way

How is it now a worry? Because 1) it's waaaaaaay too early to be worrying about anything concerning RG3's ability to succeed in the NFL, and 2) there's nothing written ANYWHERE that eludes to the idea that he won't be able to improve on this...in fact, if anything, we've been hearing how well he's able to correct mistakes because of his work ethic and intelligence.

The only people who would worry over this are those who either expected him to bomb due to being a "running QB from a spread offense that never took snaps from under center etc etc yadda yadda", or those who fell so in love with RG3 that they expected him to crap rainbows and cure cancer while simultaneously throwing 70 yard TDs from day one.

[repo_4]

In comparison, how much have we heard about Andrew Luck since he was drafted? Granted he is not on this team, but there havent exactly been reports of him blowing up the field yet either

I saw one report on ESPN about Luck and thats it. RGIII is on TV everytime I turn it on. It is starting to scare me. There is alot of pressure (media, fans, endorsements) being put on the young man.

[SWFLSkins]

jason campbell anybody?

how is this not a worry about BobGriff - rarely has there been comparisons of him to JC17 in this aspect... let's hope he does not turn out that way

[Darth Tater]

Griffin made reads on just about every play in college. Spread offense is all about reads. Thing is, the big amount of stress the spread puts on defenses, especially in college, means your first reads are very likely to be correct. You aren't going to see one thing and get another plus defenses often recover from their own mistakes while in college, a mistake by the defense always gives you an opportunity. Simple example, 1-high safety tells you somebody is getting no deep help so you just need to read the safety and he'll tell you who is open. In the pros, a defense may have guys who don't need help, a guy who can show were he's not supposed to be or change form a 1-high look to a 2 deep look almost at the snap. Also, the rush is more complex. Many plays at all levels of football are designed such that the QB must take a guy out (this is especially true of boots), Who that guy is is pretty obvious on pre snap at the lower levels but is easier to disguise when it's now basically a FT job.

[DC9]

I am going to be very interested in the play calling tomorrow night. I'd be really interested to see what Kyle does to keep the Griff comfortable.

I'd love to see some runs first, then boots, then a bubble screen or two. Nothing fancy, just keep everyone healthy.

Hurt played respectably last season, so I'm hoping he gets it together.

One way or another, we'll find out if our o-line is that bad or if our defense is that good. I suspect it's somewhere in the middle.

[TaylorPickSix]

I am a huge Keim fan. I think he's the best Skins beat reporter out there. However, he had one quote at the end of his RGIII report that I disagreed with. "I know he (RGIII) said yesterday that the Redskins defense has taken away the deep ball, but Grossman has still taken shots downfield. We'll see what Robert does against Buffalo."

Rex is notorious for his "**** it, I'm throwing it deep" mentality into heavy coverage. If Keim is implying here that if Grossman can do something there's no reason Robert can't, I disagree. Grossman has some of the worst decision-making skills in the league. I almost want Robert to do the complete opposite. You're comparing a gunslinger, gambling-type QB with a careful QB who puts an emphasis on protecting the ball. Apples to oranges.

[rookieskin]

I hope we see meh tomorrow night.

Plain vanilla.

In fact I hope we see BobGriff (lol) thow an interception, and lose a fumble.

I hope the media and every other team in teh league writes us off, and we go fuming back into camp and work our tails off, and show incremental progression though pre-season and hit our first real game, and tear the Saints up with a punishing run game, a rokie QB that makes smart decisions and uses his legs on occasion to devestating effect, and see a RABID D that creates more turnovers than a European Bakery.

[COWBOY-KILLA-]

I get the sense Keim is increasingly "glass half empty" and trying to be contrarian in regards to RG3. His tone strikes me as a hater of the RG3 coronation tour. I'm all for staying grounded and keeping perspective but he's a bit of a debbie downer specifically on #10. Just let him be what he is a 22 yr old rook. Don't point and gawk and say you see, every time he does. smh.

[rookieskin]

One thing for sure RGIII will NEVER live up to the fan-base's expectations.

He could go 18-20 with 2 tds 1 int and 428yds his first game, and we are going to hear about how we hope he solves the INT problem, and "Why dosen't he run more when he gets in trouble"?

"oh and those 2 incompletions were terrible, and we are lucky that they didn't get pick -6ed"

Expectations are so amazingly high, that hopefully they don't get out of control with a Spurrior-ish pre-season showing.

This team needs to be humble, angry, and hungry when season opening kick-off happens.

[gortiz]

jason campbell anybody?

how is this not a worry about BobGriff - rarely has there been comparisons of him to JC17 in this aspect... let's hope he does not turn out that way

seriously, don't want to disparge you, but I hope you represent a small minority of fans.

don't you think it is way to early to worry about something that means nothing?

[Last Fan Standing]

I hope we see meh tomorrow night.

Plain vanilla.

In fact I hope we see BobGriff (lol) thow an interception, and lose a fumble.

I hope the media and every other team in teh league writes us off, and we go fuming back into camp and work our tails off, and show incremental progression though pre-season and hit our first real game, and tear the Saints up with a punishing run game, a rokie QB that makes smart decisions and uses his legs on occasion to devestating effect, and see a RABID D that creates more turnovers than a European Bakery.

I don't think RGIII needs to throw an interception or fumble the ball for him and others to "work [their] tails off." It's been universally reported that he's that guy who is working his tail off regardless of whether he has a good day or a not so good day. He doesn't need to hit the bottom to find the motivation he needs. From the reports I'm reading it's there whether he's throwing easy TDs or picks. I know tomorrow night doesn't mean much of anything but I'll still take the TDs.

[RVAbrendan]

LOVE the note about Santana catching that TD in the inside slant play, and OUTRUNNING Thompson. For a vet of his age, he is looking to be in incredible shape, and that inside slant play is going to work great.

[Kindred]

If our D is doing its job well and RG3 isnt throwing into covered receivers, this is somehow bad?

[Last Fan Standing]

I get the sense Keim is increasingly "glass half empty" and trying to be contrarian in regards to RG3. His tone strikes me as a hater of the RG3 coronation tour. I'm all for staying grounded and keeping perspective but he's a bit of a debbie downer specifically on #10. Just let him be what he is a 22 yr old rook. Don't point and gawk and say you see, every time he does. smh.

That's funny I have gotten the exact opposite from Keim's RGIII reports. Have you read his other training camp reports - or just the one posted in this thread? I ask because they seem to be fair and balanced to me. I have seen him talk about RGIII correcting mistakes, showing improvements in some throws, and/or his ability to put the ball in tight windows or the exact place it needs to be for the receiver to get yards after the catch. And even when discussing his incompletions or interceptions, I have seen Keim go further than most reports and explain how he may have threw to the wrong shoulder or he missed a particular read by the defense - things which hopefully will be corrected with time. And most importantly to me, in even his most detailed analysis I have seen Keim drop a friendly reminder that he is just a rookie at the beginning of his first training camp so not to read too much into anything. I'm not trying to plug his work but I haven't seen anything that makes me believe he is being contrarian for sport or a hater.

[Sweet Sassy Molassy]

I don't get it, Keim doesn't seem to talk much about Griffin's practice on Tuesday. From what I read, he looked really good.

Here's a blurb from Rich Campbell, during his write-up:

QB Robert Griffin III’s timing was as good as we’ve seen over the course of 11 practices. Generally speaking, he was in rhythm, smooth and consistently got the ball out on time. The improvement was noticeable.

He was quick to WR Leonard Hankerson near the right sideline on one throw. Later, he completed a hitch route to TE Fred Davis, releasing the ball before Davis was out of his break.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/redskins-watch/2012/aug/7/redskins-practice-report-87/

Or this one from Mike Jones (who?):

Speaking of game pressure, Griffin looked better today as he and his teammates ran through a scrimmage against the scout defense. The rookie quarterback got the ball out more quickly and for the most part displayed good accuracy. His coaches hope to see similar execution in his limited action on Thursday against the Bills.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/post/redskins-training-camp-observations-from-aug-7/2012/08/07/58391940-e0e7-11e1-8fc5-a7dcf1fc161d_blog.html#pagebreak

Keim barely even mentions anything he did on Tuesday, aside from the TD pass to Santana.

[rookieskin]

I don't think RGIII needs to throw an interception or fumble the ball for him and others to "work [their] tails off." It's been universally reported that he's that guy who is working his tail off regardless of whether he has a good day or a not so good day. He doesn't need to hit the bottom to find the motivation he needs. From the reports I'm reading it's there whether he's throwing easy TDs or picks. I know tomorrow night doesn't mean much of anything but I'll still take the TDs.

You miss my point.

I believe RGIII is and will "work his tail off" regardless of percieved success or failure, however, it would be good to temper the raging Fan expectations, and remind the rest of the team that RGIII alone won't deliver a ring. Look at Peyton Manning, Maybe the best pure passer ever, but 1 ring due to awful teams.

I want each and every person from BGriff to the water boy to believe that the teams success this season hinges solely on their performance.

I'll take the Int's when it does not count because it is that perceived failure that motivates champions to become excellent.

[jaybrant]

I can see people making a big deal out of Griffin holding onto the ball too long... IF we weren't still in training camp.

He could be holding onto the ball longer and going through his reads to get a feel for them because he knows that he's not going to get blown up anyway. WAY WAY WAY too early to be questioning this and comparing him to Jason Campbell (of all people) imo.

I have faith in our quarterback.