What we learned
» One thing the Redskins lost with the insertion of Stephon Heyer into the starting lineup is the ability to have another player make line calls. Center Casey Rabach makes the calls for the line, but right tackle Jon Jansen would make calls at the end of the line, relaying information to the tight ends. That led to some issues in Thursday’s opening loss to the Giants as Rabach was the only one making any calls.
» Carlos Rogers’ hands are in midseason form, which is not what the Redskins want. Rogers dropped two potential interceptions in the opener, continuing a career trend, and after practice Monday he worked for 10 minutes on catching passes from quarterback Jason Campbell. The Redskins say it’s a matter of concentration, but they don’t think it’s something that can be solved simply by catching more passes from a JUGS machine.
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Player of note » Shawn Springs • CB
Springs said he will play against New Orleans on Sunday after sitting out the season opener vs. New York because of a bruised calf. Springs said he could have played had the first game been played on a Sunday instead of a Thursday, when his calf was still a little swollen. He practiced yesterday.
QB watch » Jason Campbell
Campbell did not play a strong game in the opener and must improve on numerous little things, like getting rid of the ball quickly and hitting receivers in the correct shoulder. Campbell needs to do a better job of allowing his wideouts to run after the catch. But he did finish with an 81.2 rating — only the eighth time in 21 career starts that he’s been at 80 or higher.
Redskin notes
» Jim Zorn spent his day off running errands and going on a bike ride. Nothing unusual. Unless you consider one of his riding companions: President Bush.
Zorn rode with Bush and 10 others for 90 minutes at Fort Belvoir Sunday.
“It meant a lot to me that he would ask, but he was trying to judge me whether I was capable of being out there,” Zorn said. “With him it’s very competitive and you have to earn the right.
“It’s a serious bike group. They work hard and it’s all about biking.”
Zorn has biked with the president in the past.
“He has serious friends and they’re all out there to get a great workout in and he heads it up,” Zorn said. “He does not mess around … The President always wins.”
» Receiver Malcolm Kelly was limited in practice, not taking reps during team drills. But Kelly said his knee feels better than it did a week ago when it prevented him from playing in the season opening loss to the New York Giants. Kelly did not play in the preseason either, but said he hopes to practice Wednesday. Zorn said Kelly must practice a lot more before he’ll pronounce him ready to play.
» Jon Jansen took a lot of work with the first team offense at right tackle. But don’t read too much into that. The Redskins want to keep Jansen sharp with the starters. They also gave Chris Samuels a little more rest during practice, rotating him with Stephon Heyer at left tackle.
