And there’s this: “Hopefully Stephon can play at a high level for us,” center Casey Rabach said.

Also, keep in mind that Brown has not taken a snap at left tackle since last summer with New Orleans.

4. By the way, Brown did say he’s still not comfortable at right tackle. “Not really, but we’re still working on it,” Brown said. “It’s just making sure of the footwork and things like that.”

5. Wide receiver Anthony Armstrong (groin) and safety Chris Horton (ankle) also did not practice. Defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth (ankle) was limited. Armstrong said he will play, but players always are optimistic about their chances of playing. So who knows. But groin injuries for speed guys are never a good thing.

6. Haslett wasn’t bothered by DeAngelo Hall’s comments Monday. It helps that he’s a former player, no doubt, and understands where Hall is coming from. “The good corners I’ve been around all have that mentality,” he said. “I’d be disappointed if he didn’t have that mentality. I give him all the credit for saying that, to be honest with you.”

Nor was he upset that Hall said it was his team; his defense. “No! It is their team. Players play. Coaches, we coach.”

7. The problem with having Hall play the best receiver all game is that it doesn’t always make sense. Hall hasn’t worked much covering in the slot, which would present a problem if that’s where the receiver lined up. Also, if the Redskins want to disguise coverages, it’s harder to do so if Hall lines up across a receiver who then goes in motion – taking Hall with him.

But Haslett did say he’s “open to anything.” So there likely will be times where it happens.

8. Also, when the Redskins face the Colts and Reggie Wayne, for example, it’s likely that Carlos Rogers is a better matchup. Hall’s size – he’s 5-foot-10 – makes it tough for him to cover every type of receiver.

9.  Here’s my story on how the Redskins blitz fared Sunday. My take? The blitz is not the issue; it was the coverage. Way too many guys running free. Also, it’s a lot of fun to watch some of these blitzes and how they’re orchestrated.

10. Want to know why Vonnie Holliday is valuable? Because he knows what to do in this defense. Haslett said it last week, but when you watch him it’s very subtle. He’s not a great player, but it’s the simple ability to do what they want that helps. Just having him slant to a side makes a difference. For example, he lined up at left end on one snap and slanted inside, taking the guard and occupying the center. The linebacker on that side went wide, taking the tackle. It creates a blitz lane for either the linebacker or safety. It happened a couple times. But if Holliday doesn’t do it the right way, it doesn’t work.

11. Gotta give Derrick Dockery credit for how he’s handling the rotation at guard. He said he wasn’t surprised, which is hard to believe. Then he said, “What are you gonna do about it? You gonna cry about it? Pout about it? You just have to go out and play ball.”

And he said this about Kory Lichtensteiger: “I mean Kory deserves a shot. He had a really good preseason, he had a good offseason and coach said he wanted to give him a shot.”

12. Corner Phillip Buchanon admitted that was expecting Houston to throw a shorter pass on that fourth and 10. Instead, the Texans threw 34 yards for a touchdown. Buchanon covered Andre Johnson off the line, then turned in and appeared to have passed him off to safety Reed Doughty. But Buchanon was supposed to stay on him so it would be doubled. He just blew the coverage.

“Andre looked back for the ball and kind of stopped and once he stopped I stoppec because I thought the ball was coming,” Buchanon said. “Then he drifted and the ball was in the air.”

13. Larry Johnson, of course, was a minor topic today. Though some players expressed surprise, it’s hard to imagine them being too shocked. Johnson wasn’t getting it done. He looked good during summer practices, but those can be tricky to judge running backs since there’s no tackling. You don’t get a sense of how a guy is really running.

But coach Mike Shanahan said there’s a chance Johnson could return. Clearly, Chad Simpson was signed to help on special teams, likely as a returner. That could mean an increased role for Devin Thomas on offense (which likely would only happen if Armstrong can’t play).

14. Forgot to address the Vincent Jackson trade rumors earlier. Here’s one GM on why teams would not give up a lot for a receiver at this point in the season: “They’re not giving him away and the team that’s getting him, he’s already missed the OTAs, the preseason and he’ll have a three-game suspension. It makes no sense. I’ll give you a sixth for him. And then you have to throw in a contract. It’s too much to give up. When has a guy ever come in that’s impacted a team during the season?… And when guys hold out, they never have the year that everyone thought they would have.”

This GM was consistent in saying he didn’t think Jackson would be traded because the Chargers asking price hasn’t, and won’t, change.

15. Haslett said he would like three plays back vs. Houston: the screen pass (in which the Texans caught them blitzing), the pass to tight end Joel Dreessen over Chris Horton on the game-tying drive and the touchdown to Johnson. He even said if you take those plays away, the Redskins win. That’s a silly game to play; you can’t take plays away — and the Texans could say the same thing about a few plays as well. But in fairness to Haslett, he almost seemed to be half-joking when he said it.

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