The sales calls started coming on New Year’s Day. Soon, Joe Gibbs started phoning twice a week, pitching his idea to a resistant Todd Wade. The guy had played tackle since junior high; now the Redskins wanted him to shift to guard.
Wade said no. Often.
Until, that is, he analyzed the situation: the Redskins needed a starting left guard when Derrick Dockery departed; he wanted a starting job; other teams weren’t sure if he was healthy; the Redskins knew he was.
So he’s spent the past three-plus months trying to become a left guard. Not that he has loosened his mental grip on tackle after playing it in his first seven seasons in the NFL.
“That’s been weird,” said Wade, who has spent all of 15 practices now at his new spot. “It’s been a big change, but a lot of [early problems] was misunderstanding what coach [Joe] Bugel wants. … I’m still adjusting to it.”
Until training camp opens, and the preseason games begin, it’ll be difficult to tell how Wade’s transition to left guard is truly going. And it’ll be an ongoing process, considering how new he’ll still be to the position.
But he already knows some adjustments will be tougher than others. At tackle, Wade didn’t have to worry about bending his knees as much as he does at guard. Because he’s 6-foot-8, that could be a lingering problem.
“At tackle you can rise up a little bit,” said Wade, who started one game at right tackle last season. “But defensive tackles stay lower and you have to be under his pads. I have to train myself and a lot of it is muscle memory, going out there and doing it every day.”
The ever-optimistic Bugel, though, isn’t worried about that aspect. As he points out, equally-tall Joe Jacoby made a similar move in the 1980s.
“People make such a big issue out of being tall,” Bugel said. “I like tall guys, especially when they’re 320 pounds.”
Also, Wade will have to alter his footwork. Tackles have a wider base and have more room to recover if they make a false step.
“At guard you have to take small, violent steps,” he said. “They can beat you off the bat so quick. That’s the biggest difference. This is still so new to me. The angles are different; there’s very, very small room for error.”
And the Redskins require their left guard to pull often, which also will be new for Wade. Run-blocking, especially the power game, won’t be any different for Wade. It should help him, too, playing between veterans Chris Samuels at tackle and Casey Rabach at center.
“He’s really a persistent player,” Bugel said of Wade. “Once you’re a football player, you can play anywhere you want to.”
Minicamp notes
» Right tackle Jon Jansen and defensive tackle Kedric Golston got into a skirmish during practice Sunday. As they fell to the ground, they were surrounded by others, with several players trying to pull others out of the pile.
» Cornerback Shawn Springs did not practice Sunday as there were still issues to dealwith regarding his newborn son.
» Coach Joe Gibbs said he expects all the players to be ready for training camp, which begins July 27. He said they will meet today to determine what positions, if any, need to be strengthened.
