1. Tight end Chris Cooley (knee), running back Ryan Torain (hand), receiver Donte Stallworth (shoulder), receiver Brandon Banks (knee) and safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (hamstring) all were limited in practice Thursday.
Cooley has not practiced in full for more than a month.
“It takes time to get back in football shape and to feel comfortable with himself,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said.
Cooley told the Junkies on 106.7 The Fan Friday morning that all injury status questions must go through Shanahan. When asked if they should play him on their fantasy football team Sunday, Cooley said they “should probably have faith and keep me in.”
2. Strong safety LaRon Landry did not practice and Shanahan called him a “longshot.” But Landry all but ruled himself out Wednesday.
3. The Redskins did not have to cut practice short because of the rain, which increased in severity near the end of the workout.
“The one thing about working inside you can’t work on your passing game,” Shanahan said. “You can’t throw the ball downfield. If you do, you go through a wall or a window.”
Nothing like some Shanahan schtick four days before the opener.
4. Reed Doughty will start in place of Landry, as he did for the final seven games last season. Doughty also started twice at free safety in 2010. Though Doughty is not as talented as Landry, teammates say he’s valuable because of his ability to play either safety spot, nickel linebacker and special teams.
“A guy like Reed, you don’t miss him until you don’t have him,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “You can’t say enough about him…He’s a smart player. He’s a good player as well. He understands what he needs to do and he works hard.”
Doughty said he notices a difference in himself, now that he’s played in the system for a season. He knows better what to look for.
“When you know what to look at,” he said, “you can play with more calmness and be aggressive when you need to instead of being all over the place and trying to read everything.”
5. You may have heard: The Giants have won nine of the past 10 meetings vs. Washington. You may also be tired of that as well.
“They dominated us over the years,” Shanahan said.
“They’ve run the ball on us,” Doughty said. “We haven’t run the ball on them. It’s pretty simple. They’ve had our number; there’s no other way to look at it. Hopefully we can change that.”
One stat resonated last season: The Redskins turned it over 10 times against New York and forced only two. Yes, they need to stop the run, but you’ll lose every time when have that sort of differential.
6. Fullback Darrel Young said his brother, Sgt. 1st Class David Young, will watch him play in the regular season for the first time. His brother recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan; he signed up after the events on 9-11.
“It’s special for me,” Darrel Young said. “It’s more than just football. And being from New York I have some things to show the Giants.”
Young is an Amityville, N.Y. native and has a friend who lost his father in the World Trade Center.
“It serves a purpose in my life,” Young said. “I understand everything that happened that day, being from New York, seeing the smoke in the air. It’s like I have a part in that.”
7. There’s also this for Young: It’ll be his first professional start.
“It’s a dream come true,” Young said. “My favorite part will be coming out of the tunnel, knowing there will be so much history that day.”
8. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said rookie linebacker Ryan Kerrigan is ready to start. At one point in camp, he said they would consider starting someone else if that weren’t the case. But Kerrigan improved throughout camp.
“He’s a very bright kid, picks things up fast,” Haslett said. “I’m sure he’ll make mistakes here or there but he makes them 100 miles an hour. He’s very intelligent. He’ll keep those things to a minimum. He has good football savvy, good rush ability. He’s the kind of guy you’re looking for.”
9. Haslett on keeping all five defensive draft picks (with one, Jarvis Jenkins, on IR): “That’s where you build the nucleus.” Imagine that.
10. Haslett on if DeJon Gomes is ready to play, if needed: “He’d better be. … He’s the kind of guy who makes plays. He’s around the football. He’s just a good player.”
11. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, obviously, said QB Rex Grossman can change his habit of making big turnovers at bad times. Shanahan knows what Grossman’s rap was in the past: “There was a time when he kept both teams in the game.”
But Shanahan said Grossman’s maturity will help cut down on mistakes.
“I don’t think any quarterback comes in the league and is automatic,” Shanahan said. “It takes a while for guys to be consistent. Hopefully he learned from those mistakes with other teams and he can be better with us.”
One thing that’s interesting: A big theme this week has been how Grossman took his team to the Super Bowl in Chicago; that he was a player of the month that season. Clearly they’re trying to steer the conversation another way. Can’t blame them. And their hope is that his familiarity with the offense enables him to make quicker decisions – and avoid bad situations. The guessing ends Sunday.
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