1. Brian Westbrook signed with San Francisco today, spurning the hometown Redskins. However, though I know they had interest, it must not have been all that serious. Or not as serious as Westbrook would have liked (read: money). It’s hard to imagine if the Redskins truly wanted him that he wouldn’t have signed here.
2. The Redskins still need some help on third downs. Clinton Portis can play it, especially the protection part. If Ryan Torain stays healthy, maybe he could help here at times. But Larry Johnson and Willie Parker are not known for their protection skills. And Keiland Williams whiffed on a pass block the other night.
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3. Still not feeling the line depth. Just way too inconsistent all over the place, especially on the inside.
4. Malcolm Kelly will likely miss the Baltimore game Saturday because of a pulled hamstring. Even when he gets healthy he’ll have a tough time. Kelly has not been a terrific route-runner and, at 6-foot-4, it can take him time to get in and out of breaks.
5. Funny, but several players have talked about how they lost weight this offseason to improve their speed coming in and out of breaks. Roydell Williams was the latest, saying he dropped five pounds to help.
6. The Redskins worked on scout team offense and defense today, already preparing for the Ravens game. Other coaches who have been here in the past might not have done so until Thursday. It’s why preseason results are meaningless; some coaches put more emphasis on preparation than others.
7. Jammal Brown will play Saturday, barring any sort of setback. He said he noticed a difference being on the field the past two days after not having practiced since Aug. 3. Said he was only worried about his assignment and not the pain from his hip.
8. Brown almost swallows up linemen at times. You can get away with that if you’re 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds as he is. It’s rare that linemen let defenders get into their body; it’s the best way to lose leverage. But bigger guys can do this. However, he tried to do it to Andre Carter once today and Carter swatted him aside.
9. Other thing I’ve noticed about Brown is that he’s athletic enough that he doesn’t have to tip off his intentions with his feet at the snap. Some linemen, if they’re having to pull or block down will align their feet a certain way to get a better push. He stayed more square with his feet.
10. Studs and Duds from earlier today.
11. Story on Brandon Banks’ speed (hint: he’s fast).
12. Finally, because I was so slow last night and tweeted these notes at 10:30 (right before Entourage), here are some leftover observations from Sunday.
13. The Redskins should be the freshest team in the NFL after this camp. Mike Shanahan cancelled the afternoon walk-through to take them bowling and then nixed the curfew tonight. They haven’t had two full practices in a day and several players have talked about how good they feel. Is it soft or smart? Considering the guy has won in the past doing it this way, it’s hard to find fault. Besides, with the rise in offseason practices, do you really need old-fashioned two-a-days?
14. The only thing I wonder about is their crispness when it comes to tackling. Did not look great the other night, likely a result of not having had full tackling drills or hitting in practice. Looked like it affected some angles by defenders, too. But that should improve with a few more preseason games. Right?
