1. Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo got to work on the field together for the first time. If this pairing works, they could be bookends in Washington for a long time. The one thing Orakpo stressed to Kerrigan is the need to stay low and play with his knees bent. Last season, Orakpo was a big contrast to Andre Carter in this regard. Orakpo stayed low and could explode into the blocker; Carter did not start off as low and had trouble exploding from a two-point stance. By his second step, he was in too high and his strength – his hands – were rendered ineffective. Kerrigan still looks like he could get a little lower, but we’ll wait to see what he does in real practices. I did get a kick in hearing Orakpo describe Kerrigan as a “kid.” As in, “You can see some athleticism in the kid.”
2. Thirty one players showed up Tuesday, which is nine fewer than last time. But the players did not expect to have 40 as they did in May. Receiver Anthony Armstrong and tight end Fred Davis could not attend Tuesday, but are expected to be there Wednesday. One player who has yet to show is left tackle Trent Williams. He’s told people that he’s working hard in Houston, but considering he’s only entering his second season it’s surprising that he hasn’t shown up to any of these sessions. Williams still has a lot to prove. LaRon Landry also hasn’t shown up, but that’s not a surprise considering he never did in the past – except for last season.
3. The tackles Tuesday: Selvish Capers on the left side and Clint Oldenburg on the right. With Casey Rabach not here, Will Montgomery took over at center. All totaled, there were 19 offensive players at the workout: Montgomery, Capers, Oldenburg, John Beck, Rex Grossman, Ryan Torain, Chris Cooley, Chad Simpson, Malcolm Kelly, Aldrick Robinson, Brandon Banks, Leonard Hankerson, Evan Royster, Keiland Williams, Darrel Young, Mike Sellers, Kory Lichtensteiger, Logan Paulsen and Maurice Hurt. Um, about Hurt; he still has a fleshy body. That was the knock on him before the draft. Perhaps he can play well this way, but it is difficult, especially as a seventh-rounder.
4. The defensive players in attendance: Chris Neild, Kevin Barnes, Ryan Kerrigan, DeJon Gomes, Chris Horton, Anderson Russell, London Fletcher, Rocky McIntosh, Brian Orakpo, Lorenzo Alexander, Kedric Golston and Rob Jackson.
5. The running backs worked on moving their feet in pass protection by doing one drill in which the back had his hands behind his back and had to stay in front of a “rusher.”
6. Kelly was the experienced receiver of the bunch and would remind players when and how to make their breaks. He takes a little longer to get in and out of his breaks, which is natural considering his size. It sometimes means he must start his break a little earlier, though he tends to run routes at a different depth (according to Beck) than others. Kelly said this and he’s right that both he and Hankerson catch the ball away from their body. So not only are they taller, but when you use arms this way it allows you to play even taller. Robinson, meanwhile, is smaller and shiftier. One NFL executive said of Robinson, “The kids got excellent speed. It’s great. His hands are average, but they’re good enough for a speed guy. He’s not the toughest guy, even though he was really productive for three years. We looked at him hard. There was a durability issue. You can rotate him in, try to stretch the defense and put him in a position to take shots. But he’s not an all-around receiver.”
7. But give the little guy credit. On one pass, corner Kevin Barnes tried to jump his route but was a tad late as his hands got on the ball just after Robinson caught it; Robinson yanked it away and kept running. And Robinson got matched against Alexander on one route – Alexander was playing inside and his responsibility on this play was to drop deep middle. It’s a common coverage. Anyway, Robinson appeared to stop momentarily on a deep route; it froze Alexander and then Robinson started up again for a TD catch.
8. Kelly’s Redskins tenure has been frustrating, no doubt. Will this year be any different? Who knows? He has to stay on the field and that has been an adventure. But he is 10 to 15 pounds lighter and says he “feels good.” He’s also going to work out with Beck for a week – either in Ashburn or San Diego – and then with Grossman for a week in Tampa. “Everybody has to prove something,” Kelly said. “For me to say I have to go the extra mile, yeah I do. Everyone knows that.” Kelly and Robinson ran routes for Beck and Grossman for a few minutes after the practice ended. Kelly also made a nice one-handed grab on an out route during drills. You could also see his experience compared to the others just in how hard he came back for the ball.
9. Beck had a friend videotape the workout, something they did not do last time. He planned on watching it later, hoping to get a little more from these workouts. “You want to go back on tape and see cues, see the things you’re talking about,” Beck said. “[But] first off I want to make sure the thing recorded.” Beck, by the way, probably had his best day throwing the ball. Take it for what it’s worth because there’s no one in a helmet and pads trying to sack him. In other words, it’s June.
10. This wasn’t exactly the play of the day but it left the players laughing. Banks ran a reverse to the left side where Alexander was staying home and had it stopped. So Banks moved back and then to his right and chucked a pass up for grabs to the other side. Barnes dropped the easy pick and proceeded to do push-ups.
