1. I’m starting to sound like a broken record — do people still know what those are? — but here goes: I like Trent Williams. There hasn’t yet been a time where I’ve thought, “Uh-oh.” Now, he has yet to face a heavy blitz and he’s facing friendly foes right now. Things could change. But he’s looked good so far and that was true again today. Williams was only facing Chris Wilson, a nice backup, but he handled him well. Loved the time when Wilson tried to go inside, then cut back outside and Williams handled him flawlessly: good base, hands at a good length. I don’t know how he’ll look when the real stuff begins; I do think he’ll have some issues in run-blocking as he gets used to a few things. But so far so good.
2. The offense had a better rhythm later in practice than they did the previous week. There was a lot of work on the deep passing game. Early in the practice, it did not look sharp, especially when Rex Grossman was throwing. He was long on a ball to Joey Galloway. Then he threw too shallow on one to Santana Moss. Another time Anthony Armstrong was wide open … and Grossman missed him. But those two hooked up later, in a two-minute drill, when Grossman found him deep as Armstrong beat London Fletcher. Yes, Armstrong is the “star” of spring. That gets you an invite to camp and that’s about it. Later, Richard Bartel connected with Shay Hodge on a 40-yard TD pass in which Hodge made a leaping catch.
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3. It’s interesting to watch Donovan McNabb up close when he scrambles. You can get a terrific feel of how he keeps his eyes downfield and how his body is ready to unload a pass at any moment. His hands show great urgency, if that makes sense. If it doesn’t, well, it does to me.
4. Fred Davis is athletic and we know that by now. But he continues to sometimes make plays that other tight ends just can’t make. Today, he spun in the air and came down with a grab. I wanted to ask Davis about the whole USC debacle, but never got him. Not that I would have asked him about spurning Ohio State for USC; as a Buckeye alum, I never would have done that.
5. The Redskins also did some work on two-point plays; had one time where a pass bounced off Armstrong and into Bobby Wade’s hands.
6. For you H.B. Blade fans, he worked with the first unit today. Last week he was with the three’s. It’s playing out just as Mike Shanahan said it would; sometimes guys will be with one unit and the next time we’re out there they’ll be with a different one. It makes sense to get a feel for how a guy responds against better players. Smart coaching. Chris Wilson and Lorenzo Alexander were the outside linebackers with the first unit. The starting line? Adam Carriker, Howard Green and Kedric Golston.
7. Fletcher made a nice pick today, intercepting McNabb on a pass over the middle to Armstrong (there he is again). Fletcher made a leaping grab.
8. Reed Doughty wore a cast on his right wrist, but participated. Jeremy Jarmon, coming off knee surgery, will not be ready for next week’s minicamp.
9. The Redskins remain interested in running back Brian Westbrook, but obviously have not yet heard a final response. Doesn’t seem to be a lot of urgency on either side.
10. Darrel Young fooled Blades on a pass route during one-on-one work. A little swim move and he was wide open inside. Meanwhile, Ryan Torain — whom I’m anxious to see this preseason — juked Perry Riley by faking inside, then staying outside. Wide open.
11. The missing today: Clinton Portis, Albert Haynesworth, Andre Carter, LaRon Landry and Vonnie Holliday. Coach Mike Shanahan said this was the first workout Portis has missed. Um, that’s not the case for Haynesworth. But, yes, they’re all expecting him in town for the Wednesday-Friday minicamp.
DeAngelo Hall is among those who have texted Haynesworth to keep tabs on him.
“Anybody who’s been on this field knows we’re building something special,” Hall said. “At the same time you either get on the bandwagon or you ain’t going to be here. There’s not a whole lot I’ll do to try and sell him. Am I going to try? Yeah. But it ain’t going to be wining and dining and all this other kissing his [butt]. He’ll see what’s going on and we’ll tell him what we’re trying to do. Hopefully that’s enough…. I don’t see too many of his bending over backwards.”
Teammate Phillip Daniels said, “Hopefully he comes in in great shape. Knowing Albert he’ll come in the right frame of mind. Even though he doesn’t want to play in a 3-4, I’m pretty sure when he gets here he’ll be ready to go. We’re willing to help him out and get him going. He’s missed a lot and it will take him a while.”
12. Funny, but the Haynesworth countdown is not quite as exciting as the one for Stephen Strasburg.
13. Hall had some interesting things to say about former Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell.
