Ten players, or aspects, I’ll focus on tonight when the Redskins play Baltimore:
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WR Devin Thomas. The receiver is expected to play more with the first unit and must start showing some consistency. Thomas has been too inconsistent with his routes and his hands, but he offers more talent than almost all of the other receivers. Thomas also can help himself on special teams with a better night on returns. Last season he seemed to do better at receiver when he had a good return early in the game.
RB Larry Johnson. The former star running back will start in place of Clinton Portis after not playing in the opener. Johnson has clearly been the second most effective back in practice and his power adds a nice element to the running game. This is an excellent test for him.
WR Brandon Banks. After returning a punt for a touchdown in the opener, Banks put himself in good position to win a roster spot. But he’s far from there; he needs to prove he can be a consistent returner and not just a one-time flash.
RB Willie Parker. Like Johnson, he didn’t play in the opener but is expected to see action vs. Baltimore. Parker needs to show speed around the edge, as he once was known for, and that he can help in protection. The latter is questionable.
RT Jammal Brown. Brown missed the opener with a hip injury, but he practiced all week and should be ready. Brown is athletic, but it’s also clear that he’s strong and plays with a nasty streak. Will he be playing with a bad hip?
LT Trent Williams. Terrell Suggs is still a top outside linebacker and dropped about 20 pounds this offseason, so he should be faster. A good test for Williams, who is helped facing Brian Orakpo every day in practice.
LB Andre Carter. The Ravens could be down to their third right tackle tonight. That means Carter should be able to generate some pressure. If not … Carter also got caught looking at the wrong things sometimes last week and it cost him. How much has one game helped him? It takes more than one game to adjust to a new position.
The blitz. Buffalo rarely did anything to try and fool the Redskins; considering it’s the preseason can’t say that I blame them. But the Ravens likely will, if only because that’s part of what they do in the regular season. It won’t be a lot, but it should be enough to see if the Redskins’ new protection scheme makes a difference. It’s designed to pick up blitzes by having the linemen protect an area and not be responsible for a guy; a zone, in other words.
The secondary. In practice, they’re not facing the toughest receiving corps outside of Santana Moss. Is that why they’ve looked so good? And last week it’s not as if Buffalo has a scary passing attack; the Bills would need, oh, a quarterback for that to be the case. But Baltimore with Joe Flacco offers a stronger, and necessary, test for the entire DB crew. Oh, and I wonder if DeAngelo Hall will get involved in the run defense. Wonder if that drives Jim Haslett nuts.
DT Albert Haynesworth. After missing most of the practices this week for, well, I’m not really sure why he was out, he’d best respond in a big way. He will look good when he goes in, especially if it’s against second teamers. But is there a consistency of effort? That’s probably the single biggest thing Haynesworth must prove to the coaches. They were highly unimpressed with what they saw on tape last year. He doesn’t need to make every tackle or sack the quarterback every play, but no more of this rush one play then go half-speed on the next. The Haynesworth makeover project remains a work in progress. Remember, they’re trying to change many years of on-field behavior. It typically doesn’t work, but we’ll see.
