1. John Beck will start Friday; no surprise considering the plan all along has been to rotate he and Rex Grossman. Here’s the link.
2. DeAngelo Hall got into another scrape; this time, though, it wasn’t on an opponent’s sideline and it was with one of his defensive teammates: Chris Horton. Hall and Horton exchanged words after a pass completion to Tim Hightower.
Then the two started throwing punches and ended up on the ground before teammates pulled them apart. Safety LaRon Landry first walked Hall away from the scene; Landry then walked Horton away as well.
“Some words were exchanged and punches thrown and we hug and make up,” Hall said. “That wasn’t much of nothing. I’m used to drag down all-out type brawls. So that was a little teaser. In Atlanta, we used to get down. We used to riot out there.”
“It’s done,” Horton said.
3. Coach Mike Shanahan spoke with both players. Considering Hall is supposed to be a team leader, it doesn’t look good to have him getting into fights with teammates.
What did Shanahan say to him?
“Nothing much, you’re a leader, lead this team,” Hall said. “That’s about it.”
Shanahan said, “It’s part of camp. You talk about it, you talk about keeping your poise but you understand how it happens; two competitive guys getting after it. It’s the nature of the game….[But] you’ve got to keep your poise and not cost your team a 15-yard penalty [in a game]. We stress that all the time.”
Both Hall and Horton had to run sprints after practice as punishment.
Hall and Horton appeared to have at least one miscommunication in practice last week. But Hall said the fight stemmed only from Tuesday’s practice.
“We’re just trying to be sound,” Hall said. “We can’t give up plays like we did last year. You have to correct it on the field. If that involves someone getting smacked around a little bit, that’s what we do. But we do got to get it fixed.”
4. Yes, Hall was among those who gave up big plays last year.
5. Returner Brandon Banks won’t play vs. Indianapolis Friday because of a sore knee. He tried to run routes in practice, his knee started acting up so he had to stop. Banks’ knee has been troublesome all of camp, but the Redskins remain high on him. Terrence Austin will return kicks Friday.
6. Offensive line coach Chris Foerster said he was pleased with the cut-blocking Friday, especially considering they can’t practice it in camp. He also said it’s tougher to cut block vs. a defense like Pittsburgh’s that is more about gap control than getting upfield.
“They play off the line and play with their hands more,” Foerster said. “They’re trying to control you and keep you away from them and read what’s going on so it becomes harder to cut. Though you still can, it’s harder.”
Indy likes to get upfield with its defensive front.
7. Running back Ryan Torain had not seen the hand specialist as of early this afternoon, but was still expected to see him at some point Tuesday. Torain had surgery to repair his fractured left hand on Aug. 4.
8. Other players who didn’t practice Tuesday: linebacker London Fletcher (groin/hamstring); safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (groin), safety LaRon Landry (knee), safety Kareem Moore (knee) and corner Josh Wilson (hamstring). Tight end Chris Cooley (knee) remains out as well.
9. Running back James Davis, who left town Sunday night, will not be back with the team. Shanahan said Davis is in Atlanta. And he disputed reports that Davis got into a shouting match with his position coach, Bobby Turner. However, no one will dispute that he was upset about his lack of reps in practice and in the preseason opener.
10. Foerster on Sean Locklear: “He’s been good. He needs to get comfortable [at left tackle]. He’s running with the idea he’ll be the swing tackle. He needs reps on the left side.”
11. Fred Davis’ new outlook.
