Ten nuggets from the Redskins’ OTA Wednesday (our one day for the week):
1. No mention of Albert Haynesworth. Well, just one. After talking to Carlos Rogers about the real hot topic of the day — HGH — I told him, “At least we’re not asking questions about Albert.” Got a big laugh from him on that one.
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2. The HGH topic dominated conversation today. The players say they don’t know who the Athlete A mentioned in the report is, but they’re wondering about it just like everyone else. Defensive end Phillip Daniels did say that “guys who use HGH know what they’re doing.” In other words, they can’t claim it was slipped into another substance and taken without their knowledge. But the player has told investigators he never knowingly took HGH. Daniels said he hopes the player is never named, not wanting to look at whoever it is in a different light. Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said he hasn’t heard from the NFL about the investigation.
Now, on to football stuff. Please keep in mind that it’s May 19th and it only matters what players do when they’re in pads.
3. Quarterback Rex Grossman looks good in these drills, but that’s what I was told would be the case. One person familiar with Grossman said he always (or at least most of the time) looks good in practice. He hit receiver Bobby Wade on a deep ball, beating Reed Doughty.
4. Running back Ryan Torain is the special teams guy, but he put a nice move in a one-on-one drill on linebacker Robert Henson. For whatever that’s worth.
5. But the best stuff came between fullback Mike Sellers and linebacker Alvin Bowen. Not sure what started it, but Sellers caught a pass on him in a seven-on-seven drill. They jawed a little at one another and Sellers told him, “Let’s go again.” The drill ended one play later, before they could get back out there and as they walked to another drill Sellers said, “I better see you every time tomorrow, talking all that [bleep].” Fun times.
6. Rookie LT Trent Williams again showed his athleticism and he has a long reach, which he used to his advantge. But the learning curve is evident when facing a guy like Brian Orakpo. Can’t judge Williams yet, but Orakpo would set him up by stepping inside and then going wide. Williams was good at driving his man out on some run blocks, but did have some troubles, too, against Rob Jackson.
7. Right tackle will be interesting to watch this summer. Stephon Heyer did not look good at all; too upright, which allowed linemen to knock him back a bit; flat-footed at other times. Orakpo, Jackson and Chris Wilson got the best of him. Starter Artis Hicks was OK at best. He’ll benefit from playing just one position rather than switching around as he’s done most of his career.
8. The Redskins remain interested in RB Brian Westbrook, who visited last week. Shanahan said he’s still “under consideration.” Westbrook would fill a need as a third-down back — if healthy. And that could be a big if. Westbrook also visited Denver last week and, though Donovan McNabb said he’s not the one pushing for a signing here, one former Eagle is making the case for him with the Broncos. At some point the Redskins need to get some young legs in the backfield, someone who could provide a jolt. The backs have looked sharp in the offseason, but they’re all vets and they should look good at this time of the year.
9. Washington worked on its punting game a little today, with Josh Bidwell kicking from his own end zone. The first punt was high and to the 45-yard line; the second was not that high and landed around the 39. Center Casey Rabach was happy that the kickers were even working as he shouted, “Hell must be freezing over. The kickers are working today.”
10. Vonnie Holliday and DeAngelo Hall both had excused absences and not every rookie could attend (they can’t show up until their class graduates) … Andre Carter is still not working in the full team drills yet; said he’ll probably start doing that in June.
