1. The running backs worked on picking up blitzing linebackers Tuesday morning and one thing was clear: rookie Roy Helu needs a lot of work in this area. Man did he get chastised a few times by running backs coach Bobby Turner. Too often Helu kept his head down and failed to move his feet. At one point Turner shouted, “You’ve got to get doggone meaner! That’s terrible!” Another time Turner yelled, “You’ve got to get nasty!”
2. Give Helu credit, though, for picking up London Fletcher on one blitz; finally, Helu kept his head up. And later Helu picked up a blitz during full-team work.
3. Fellow rookie Evan Royster fared better, easily picking up Horatio Blades on one attempt. Royster kept his head up and his body square. But Perry Riley got him with an inside move as Royster’s eyes went down, allowing Riley to break free. Tim Hightower was mostly solid though he did try to shoulder bump Rocky McIntosh on one blitz. And failed. To which Turner yelled, “That’s unacceptable!” Darrel Young was solid, too.
4. Focused more on rookie Ryan Kerrigan, particularly in coverage. He’s still obviously getting used to playing this spot and does not move as fast as he eventually will. You can tell how much he has to process and it will take time.
5. But he is smart and is getting used to the change. Here’s an example: Kerrigan allowed a touchdown pass to tight end Logan Paulsen, starting from the right side and running to the back left. Kerrigan lost sight of his responsibility, taking a quick look back at the quarterback.
6. On the next play, the offense ran a similar play. This time, Kerrigan did a better job slowing Paulsen at the line and then keeping his eyes locked on him. The pass was incomplete, causing some defensive players to holler at him. And safeties coach Steve Jackson, standing near where the play ended, said, “Way to bounce back!”
7. During a special teams session, linebackers coach Lou Spanos worked with Kerrigan on a separate field, going over where to place his hands on the receiver when he’s in a particular coverage. And how to react to various formations.
8. Josh Wilson did a nice job in run support on one outside run by Tim Hightower, forcing him to cut inside right into McIntosh and Fletcher. Oh, on the next play Hightower ran through a hole between the right guard and tackle and ran into a hard shoulder pop by Fletcher, causing him to fall to the ground. After Hightower got up, Fletcher looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.
9. One thing you always notice when standing near the field: a lot of talk about playing with your eyes. Marty Schottenheimer used to mention this a lot, but it really picked up with Gregg Williams‘ defensive staff. In other words, keep your eyes on your work. When you peak at someone else’s responsibility, you get burned.
10. Tight end Chris Cooley jumped high for a John Beck pass in the back of the end zone, but had it skip off his hands. When Cooley landed it appeared to test his left knee. He sat out a few plays but did return.
11. The coaches wanted Beck to get rid of the ball a little faster on one red zone play. Instead, he hung onto it for a while and eventually had to throw it away.
12. For what it’s worth, when safety O.J. Atogwe wanted to get LaRon Landry’s attention, he called out, “Dirty.” Yes, as in Dirty 30. Atogwe continues his role as mentor, particularly to Chris Horton. The latter had a real rough day in coverage, getting burned or lost on a few occasions. On one pass, resulting in a TD throw, Atogwe kept shouting, “Left, left, left!” Horton didn’t get over there. So after the play, Atogwe simulated a quarterback’s drop and how he tries to throw off a DB with his eyes. He was trying to help Horton learn how to read the drop back, allowing him to break faster.
13. Yet Horton’s tough day continued. On a TD pass to Santana Moss, corner DeAngelo Hall rode Moss inside, then released to the safety. But Horton was slow coming over and Moss caught the pass. Hall jumped up and yelled, “oooooh! Come on!” Horton was just slow to react. Later, Fletcher clearly was expecting Horton to cover Paulsen. Incidentally, Landry was right by Paulsen after the play and told him, “I was gonna stick your [rear end].”
14. Hall made a nice play vs. Jabar Gaffney, jumping inside to deflect a pass.
15. On a stretch run to the right, Barry Cofield ran to his left and prevented Kory Lichtensteiger from blocking him cleanly. Cofield gained penetration and prevented a cutback lane. This scene rarely occurred last summer. London Fletcher talked about this after practice and it’s something that’s been in the practice reports, but the inside ‘backers are running more cleanly to the ball this summer. Curious to see if that continues in games.
16. Another time, Cofield got inside Chris Chester on a four-man rush. But Will Montgomery helped out and prevented him from going further.
17. Jarvis Jenkins alert. The big fella got upfield in a hurry (OK, it was against Xavier Fulton, but still) and forced Tim Hightower to reverse field to his left.
18. The kicking competition isn’t exactly scintillating. If one guy consistently misses in practice it’s noteworthy but it still comes down to what they do in games. Both kickers missed one attempt. Long snapper Nick Sundberg did not have a great day snapping the ball either.
19. Leonard Hankerson dropped another pass right in his hands. It’s an issue.
20. Still concerned with the blocking at tight end; Paulsen is the only one who seems to do it fine consistently. In a hurry-up offense drill, the linebackers stuffed a draw by Hightower, who took off around the right end. Why? Well, have to admit I was far from the play but my spy (OK, it was The Washington Times’ Rich Campbell) said it was tight end Fred Davis’ poor blocking. Davis is not a blocker and never will be. He struggled in one-on-one blocking drills vs. the linebackers Monday. This is why Mike Sellers still has a shot to make the team. The only question is, at who’s expense? That is a tough question to answer and it’s why Sellers can’t relax.
21. Selvish Capers had a tough two plays, getting moved back by Kedric Golston and then getting beaten by Markus White coming around to the inside.
22. Edgar Jones beat Paulsen on a rush, forcing Kellen Clemens to throw an unwise pass up for grabs that Dante Barnes intercepted. Clemens did not have a good day throwing the ball.
