1. We covered the Trent Williams story already, that is the story of his absence from training camp. But suffice to say it is a topic. Williams says he’s going to report in great shape and I would suggest that’s a wise idea. Though only Kory Lichtensteiger was willing to say anything publicly, there’s little doubt that others are tweaked by certain absences. But this is also true during seasons when they have organized team activities. Now it’s very involuntary, though it would be shocking if Mike Shanahan did not know who is attending and who is not.
2. So to answer that question, here are the offensive players who attended: John Beck, Rex Grossman, Logan Paulsen, Chris Cooley, Lichtensteiger, Chad Simpson, Maurice Hurt, Brandon Banks, Leonard Hankerson, Anthony Armstrong, Will Montgomery, Evan Royster, Clint Oldenburg, Selvish Capers, Keiland Williams, Ryan Torain, Darrel Young, Aldrick Robinson and Mike Sellers. Apparently Malcolm Kelly was going to attend, even texting with Beck the night before about his intentions, but he was not there.
3. The defensive guys who attended: Ryan Kerrigan, DeJon Gomes, Chris Horton, Kareem Moore, Kedric Golston, Kevin Barnes, Brian Orakpo, Rob Jackson, Anderson Russell, Chris Neild, Lorenzo Alexander and London Fletcher. Moore remains limited because of his knee.
4. Former Redskin Justin Tryon also showed up – in his Colts shorts, naturally. “Don’t be stealing our defense for Indy!” Fletcher shouted at him. Not sure that’s exactly what the Colts would want anyway. Regardless, the Redskins actually needed Tryon as Barnes was the only other corner to attend.
5. One of the best plays involved Tryon getting beat. Actually, he wasn’t even beaten by much but it showed the difference a little size can make. Beck threw a 40-yard pass to rookie Leonard Hankerson just high enough for the 6-foot-2 Hankerson to catch it over the 5-foot-9 Tryon. Yes, size does matter. Earlier, Hankerson gained good separation vs. Tryon by using his strength and coming back for the ball.
6. Rex Grossman threw the ball pretty well today. Beck, meanwhile, threw one interception and another one that should have been picked. Wait a minute, am I really worried about picks in June? Well, not really. But they provide color from practice. The one near-pick was notable because Fletcher jumped the pass to Cooley – and had it drill him in the forehead, resulting in a loud, “Thud!” A few plays later Fletcher made a pick in the flat of a Beck pass.
7. It’s fun watching the individual drills, especially by the receivers. Get a chance to see how quick some of their feet are; and that’s what many noticed about rookie Aldrick Robinson. His quick footwork in the ladder agility ropes stood out, as it did when running around cones. Who knows if he can play – no pads, remember — but he has some skills worth developing.
8. Tight end Logan Paulsen had a tough day catching the ball, dropping a couple passes. That happened in the previous minicamp too. But that’s not his forte anyway and won’t be with Cooley and Fred Davis on the roster. Paulsen’s footwork, incidentally, was good as well in those drills. Anyway, as far as his hands, after one dropped corner route he heard it from his teammates (good naturedly, of course). “You idiot!” Cooley shouted. “Don’t throw it to stone hands!” Oldenburg shouted.
9. Another play that resulted in razzing was a run by Keiland Williams to the right. Williams then stopped and tried to hit Grossman on the other sideline. Needless to say it was incomplete. “That’s the kind of play that gets you fired as offensive coordinator!” Fletcher yelled.
10. Beck once again had a buddy videotape practice and the offense is expected to get together at Cooley’s house (an undisclosed location, of course) to go over the tape and have a barbecue. Before I go on more about the film, this sort of camaraderie is missed when you never attend. Back to the film. Cooley and Beck watched it Tuesday night and it helped. “There were adjustments I was able to make today after watching subtle things,” Cooley said, “instead of just coming out and running.” Beck said when they’re running plays live, they can’t focus on little things such as where the receiver is when he makes his cut. “Now you can be more critical and say it was A, B or C,” Beck said, “and how can we help that. The thing I really like is having the line out here. I don’t know how many teams in the NFL are able to have their lines out there.” But just know not everyone can be helped by the film. Lichtensteiger said, “I didn’t even know there was tape yesterday.” The problem for the linemen is that they need the film to be from the end zones and this view is from the sideline, akin to what they’d get in high school. Still, Cooley said, “Just to have a second look at it and not just come out and go through the motions, but to have a second look and talk about what we did makes a big difference. It’s good for us and a smart move by John.”
