…Running back Rock Cartwright flew to Houston after practice today to be with his father who suffered a mini-stroke. Cartwright said his father was stabilized, but that he had problems with vision in one of his eyes. Cartwright will join the team in Dallas. Cartwright’s mom died a few years ago, which made him more determined to visit his one remaining parent.
…Running back Clinton Portis was in Pittsburgh to be evaluated by a concussion specialist — the same one who performed tests on Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook.
…Redskins coach Jim Zorn commended tight end Fred Davis for his work the past two games and his improvement in blocking fundamentals. My question: why did it take until Chris Cooley was injured before Davis took this part of the job more serious. After all, he was already playing before Cooley got hurt.
“The fact that it’s on his shoulders makes a difference,” coach Jim Zorn said. “Also, he’s taken it upon himself to really listen to those techniques that Scott [Wachenheim] is teaching and imparting to him. It’s made a difference. In these situations guys either rise up or they just can’t do it yet and sometimes it’s a matter of maturity. Sometimes it’s a matter of ability. In his defense, he’s one of those guys who is really rising up.”
Davis clearly has improved as a blocker in both of the past two games. He worked well alongside left tackle Levi Jones. And his focus has sharpened since Cooley was hurt. But had he taken the same approach to blocking, the Redskins would have scored on the fourth and 1 vs. St. Louis. Lesson learned.
…Rookie fullback Eddie Williams was carted off the field after injuring his ankle on the second to last play of practice. No word yet on the severity of the injury.
…Still no word on who will start at corner opposite DeAngelo Hall. They’re keeping Dallas guessing; maybe they want the Cowboys to think they’re going to mimic the strategy employed by Green Bay last week, when it used corner Charles Woodson on tight end Jason Witten.
Oh, the suspense.
…When asked if the Redskins might have stumbled onto the answer for left tackle going forward with Levi Jones, offensive line coach Joe Bugel said, “You think so because football is real important to him. He realizes this is an audition for him and he’s giong to paly his rear end off. I like guys like that. He was no-nonsense. He didn’t just want to be part of the scout team. He said, ‘Buges, I came here to start.’ I said to stick around; the way we get injured you may be in there tomorrow.”
Interesting that he didn’t say anything about Chris Samuels being their left tackle. Still expecting Samuels to retire.
…Another telling comment from Bugel on running back Ladell Betts: “The players trust him. They have a great respect for him. He’s a guy who says nothing. Even if he has a mouthful, he says nothing and when it comes time to play, he plays. That’s the good thing about Ladell Betts. That’s why the guys respect him so much.”
Wonder if he’s comparing him to any other running back on the roster?
…But it is worth noting how many players say similar things about Betts and have for years. They know it makes a difference that he practices. A few years ago one player told me, while Betts was in the midst of 100-yard games, that they might be better off with him than Portis. Maybe he’s not more talented, but they seem to like the intangibles he brings. But the owner and the coaches, not just the current staff, all have stood by Portis.
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