Running backs

Liked: Darrel Young’s blocking. Counted at least three really good lead blocks; he arrives with some fury. Both Keiland Williams and Ryan Torain should thank him this morning for some of their runs. On one run, Young took out one Bill then headed to another and blocked him. Clinton Portis looked fairly sharp in limited duty, but we know what he can do. Williams and Torain had highs and lows. One of Torain’s best runs came when he should have been dropped for a four-yard loss, but broke a tackle and gained four yards. At times he cut well, with some economy, too. Williams ran with a little more power and made an excellent cut on his scoring run.

Disliked: Williams whiffed in pass protection and that can’t happen. At times Torain could have pressed the hole better; had he done so he had a couple more long runs available. On one, the linebacker waited and simply stepped in to fill a hole that was huge. Had Torain taken one more step to the line, he would have run the linebacker into traffic and he could have cut back to a wide opening. He also runs too upright.

Receivers

Liked: Roydell Williams had a nice catch and run; had a clue what he wanted to do after he caught the ball and made a decisive cut to spring himself. Devin Thomas ran an excellent route to get free for a touchdown, a nice out and up in which the corner completely bit on the fake and the safety was caught flat-footed. Anthony Armstrong positioned himself well on the touchdown pass. Terrence Austin had a nice grab on a slant; he runs that well and is not afraid in traffic. Thomas’ blocking wasn’t bad. Bobby Wade had an excellent block on Williams’ first touchdown run.

Disliked: Some of the blocking, starting with Santana Moss. He had one weak block attempt, tried to roll a guy, and instead watched him make a tackle.Had they maintained their blocks better, you’d have seen about five or six longer runs. Armstrong missed a block at the line; a 5-yard run would have been at least 10. Stuff like that adds up. Denver’s offense usually received good blocking from the wideouts.

Tight ends

Liked: Chris Cooley’s return; was pretty solid overall. Fred Davis had a couple nice grabs as well, including a touchdown. Both were OK in blocking, too, but not perfect. Really liked Lee Vickers and Logan Paulsen’s effort. From one of those guys, the Redskins should find a solid third tight end. Vickers did a nice job sealing the end on a couple runs; he’s done that in camp, too. Paulsen had a couple nice downfield blocks. Both drive their men.

Disliked: Davis missed a block on a four-yard Portis run – it should have been longer. Davis’ hands were too wide on the defender and he was controlled. He was controlled by a defensive end on the second drive, again limiting a run that should have gone further. But after that he was better and in fact had one series in the second quarter in which he threw consecutive good blocks.

Offensive line

Liked: Solid effort for the most part by the starters. LT Trent Williams had one or two snafus, and we’ll get to them in a minute, but for the most part was what we saw in camp: a guy who has such a great base that he can get out of trouble unlike anyone else on this unit. He bends so well that he’s almost always balanced. Williams buried his man once.  RT Stephon Heyer was fairly solid and put some distance between himself and others in the fight to be the third tackle. After last night, it’s probably not close as his game experience showed. Yes, he screwed up sometimes, but it was a mostly positive outing. Wow; I’ve never written those words before. On a bad second unit, Edwin Williams was solid at left guard. He used his arms better than anyone else on that group and the pressures he allowed were the result of others mistakes. Williams drove his man on Keiland Willias’ second score.

Disliked: Casey Rabach was controlled in the middle too often and allowed some pressure to his outside shoulder. Trent Williams did have a false start and on one run in which he slid to his right, he could not get to the inside shoulder of the defensive player. Picky. Derrick Dockery was fine, but an old nemesis flared up again. One time he was beat simply because he lunged at the snap and lost leverage. Artis Hicks had a couple good blocks, but his hands were a major issue. When they were tight, he would win. That didn’t happen enough and he spent too much time fighting not to get shoved deep into the backfield. Heyer had some issues, mostly when he let a defender into his body and then was knocked out of the way. He fell another time. And his hands were sometimes slow; he’s not a starter. But the second group. Good lord. Clint Oldenburg was not good at all; his hands never seemed to get to the defender first and he would swing his arms too far back before going forward; caused him to miss his guy too many times. Way too many. Got knocked to the ground one time.

Did not like Will Robinson one bit. Had a couple good blocks, but he would cross his feet too often as he chased his man. It was an easy setup for an inside move and sure enough that’s how Aaron Maybin beat him. Robinson looked good early in camp, but his fundamentals were out of whack Friday. The one knock on Williams, and he wasn’t perfect, but one time when he pulled he took way too much of a circular route and that caused a poor block. Oh, and I haven’t mentioned Chad Rinehart. Can’t tell you how many times he was driven deep into the backfield. Played too upright and his hands weren’t good either. Just couldn’t anchor.

NOTE: For a look at the defense, click here.

Follow me on twitter @John_Keim