1. Safety LaRon Landry was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week – and deservedly so. He finished with 13 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. We’ve tapped out on our praise for him; not sure how much more I can say.
But here’s what Colts QB Peyton Manning said, “You can just tell that he’s got excellent instincts. You see him on one side of the field and all of a sudden you see the play kind of go to the other side and all of a sudden you see him show up on film making a big hit or recovered a fumble or whatever it may be.”
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2. Trent Williams was found not guilty in his reckless driving case. Seems he had an interesting comment to the arresting officer.
3. Williams did not practice today, but coach Mike Shanahan expects him to practice Thursday. And right tackle Jammal Brown did practice in full. So the Redskins should be good at tackle – in a game where they’re facing two good defensive ends. But I do worry about Brown’s health going forward. By the way, Albert Haynesworth is expected to return for Thursday’s practice.
4. The Colts are a banged-up bunch. Eight players didn’t practice today: LB Gary Brackett (groin), RB Donald Brown (hamstring), WR Austin Collie (foot), LB Kavell Conner (foot), DE Dwight Freeney (rested), WR Pierre Garcon (hamstring), DB Jacob Lacey (foot) and DB Bob Sanders (biceps). Two others were limited: RB Joseph Addai (neck) and WR Anthony Gonzalez (ankle).
5. This is definitely another game the Redskins could win. The Colts have problems on their offensive line, particularly in run-blocking. Washington can take advantage of questionable tackle play; but that all depends on how much they can confuse Manning at the line and buy themselves an extra second to get to him.
“He sits in the pocket because he can’t run so well,” Lorenzo Alexander said. “If we can get to him a couple times and get him worried about our rush and [Brian Orakpo] and ‘Dre coming after him and keep his eyes off Reggie Wayne and we’ll be all right.”
6. For those who disliked Reed Doughty, hope you paid close attention to what he did vs. Green Bay. He’s not a natural free safety, but he can help and he proved that Sunday with his performance. He understands where he’s supposed to be and when, which is half the battle. It helped that as the dime safety he often was aligned near the line of scrimmage. He blitzed a few times, too.
7. Kareem Moore knows he must improve his angles to the ball. “I definitely have to get better,” Moore said. “It’s more a mental thing with me, having had time off I didn’t have a chance to work on my tackling in the preseason. I just have to get back in the swing of things. I can’t give up a big run like that.”
8. After the game, receiver Anthony Armstrong talked about being on Red Bull during the game. Naturally, when he showed up for work today, someone had dropped off a case of a different energy drink. Uh, don’t be surprised if Armstrong starts dropping other references. Just in case.
9. Armstrong said again that he will appeal his $5,000 fine for showing too much white on his socks (oops: initially I said not enough white; wrong) during the Green Bay game. “I still want my money back,” he said.
10. By the way, Armstrong does not conduct interviews in front of his locker (which is next to Donovan McNabb’s). Does it in front of a column a few feet away. Says he doesn’t want to get a “HOA” fine. “When Donovan signed, I told him don’t bring all those reporters in front of his locker and now I’m the one with all the reporters in front of his locker.”
And when he told McNabb that in April, his reaction? “He was like, who is this guy?” Armstrong said.
11. DeAngelo Hall on trying to confuse Manning with various blitzes: “You definitely have to be careful. We couldn’t confuse Sam Bradford, how can we go out there and confuse Peyton Manning? … You might confuse him for a quarter or a half or maybe even three quarters, but at some point he’ll figure out what’s going on and he’ll be able to execute that offense.”
12. To submit a question for Redskins mailbag, click here.
13. Here’s a blog item on the Redskins blitzes. Just to show how coordinated the effort has to be. And here’s a story on the defense.
