1. Strong safety LaRon Landry was limited in practice because of his hamstring, but he said he felt “great” and called Thursday a steppingstone in his recovery. Then he added, “You’ll see me Monday.”
However, coach Mike Shanahan is not yet ready to pronounce Landry ready to play in Monday’s game at Dallas. Landry has yet to test his hamstring at full speed, he hasn’t practiced since training camp opened on July 28.
“We’ll have to wait on the next couple of days,” Shanahan said. “It’s not your attitude; it’s how your hamstring responds. Hopefully it responds accordingly.”
2. Corner Josh Wilson (head, neck, back) and strong safety DeJon Gomes (hamstring) also were limited. Fullback/tight end Mike Sellers had his ankle stepped on late in practice and it swelled, causing him to sit out. Shanahan did not know the severity of the injury.
3. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett didn’t have a problem with corner DeAngelo Hall’s comments regarding his desire to hit quarterback Tony Romo’s ribs. One thing I find funny: Hall is a sound tackler, but he’s not exactly a guy who’s going to knock players out of games. Anyway, back to Haslett and his take on what Hall said.
“Well when you think about it, you’re not allowed to hit him in the head and you can’t hit below the knees,” Haslett said. “So there’s only one other place you can hit him. It’s a shame he’s hurt. I think he was joking more than anything. He was chuckling about him. But realistically that’s the only place you can hit a quarterback now. I know Romo, he’s a tough guy. He’s a tough minded guy so he’ll be ready to roll.”
Remember, this is a former linebacker known for his toughness. What do you really think Haslett is going to say?
4. Wrote a story on this for Friday’s paper so I won’t go into great detail, but one reason linebacker Ryan Kerrigan’s pass rush improved last week was due to him taking a better path to the ball. What you should like about Kerrigan is how fast a study he is; he noticed on film the route he took in the opener and he worked on it during the week. It made a difference vs. the Cardinals.
5. Dallas moves linebacker DeMarcus Ware around more than in the past under first-year coordinator Rob Ryan. But he’ll still be over left tackle Trent Williams quite a bit.
“Just be consistent and focus on every play and you can’t get lazy because he’ll capitalize on your mistakes real fast,” Williams said.
And when asked what Ware does well, Williams said, “A better questions is what he doesn’t do well. I haven’t seen anything that he has problems with. He’s one of the best in the league. It’ll be a great challenge.”
Williams knows that Ware likes to set up his opponents and does so as well as anyone.
“As long as you stay in the right body position and you don’t get off-balanced, you can be prepared,” for any move, Williams said.
But that’s been a little bit of a problem for Williams in the first two games, especially in the opener when he faced a better pass rusher than he did in Week 2.
6. Haslett liked how Hall fared vs. Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Hall’s lone mistake resulted in a 73-yard touchdown in which he had no help. He bit hard on the slant, thinking quarterback Kevin Kolb wanted to throw a quick pass given the pressure that was coming. Great call by the Cards. And when you’re a guy who relies on calculated risks as Hall does, you will get burned on occasion.
Haslett likes how Hall has played in the two games.
“He’s tackling well, he’s always been a good tackler,” Haslett said. “He obviously has great ball skills. The turnovers haven’t come his way, but they will because of the scheme.”
7. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said the decision to insert running back Roy Helu depends on the flow of the game. He said one reason they used Helu more is to limit the wear and tear on Tim Hightower. Smart move. There’s no way a running back can sustain the effort Hightower provided in Week 1. It’s not just the carries (25), it was the blitz pickups and receptions (three).
“It’s tough because he can do it all,” Shanahan said of Hightower. “It tires the guy out. We’ve got to make sure that we do make those decisions and even though when it’s hard to pull a guy out, especially when he’s having success like he was, it’s just going to help him and help the team in the long run.”
8. One thing to keep in mind about tight end Chris Cooley: After the opener, he said doctors originally told him he’d miss the first two games. As he continues to get back into football shape – Mike Shanahan’s favorite phrase – he’ll keep getting more chances.
“Cooley is extremely important,” Kyle Shanahan said. “He’ll continue to have a big role in this offense. We weren’t sure he was going to play as much as he has. He’s exceeding our expectations going in.”
9. Kyle Shanahan has an explanation for the batted passes. Naturally, it has nothing to do with Rex Grossman’s height (in fairness to him, it’s not a problem every game).
“I don’t believe tipped balls have much to do with height,” Shanahan said. “Even tall guys don’t really throw over people. You throw through windows. The D-line in that game, I think they got a little tired inside and weren’t rushing as hard and kind of sitting there.
“They had tall players with long arms. Sometimes when they were up the field, Rex got up in there in the pocket a lot and that’s when it’s tough. You’re throwing right through people. I don’t think he has that problem all the time.”
10. The Redskins threw the ball 63 percent of the time last season; they’ve thrown it 57 percent through two games. That’s more of what they want to do. Offensive balance doesn’t mean 50-50; it means being committed to the run and the Redskins have been.
“We want to be a balanced team,” Kyle Shanahan said. “We weren’t as balanced as we wanted to be last year, not even close. I think we’re doing a better job of that this year…. When you do have longer drives, you can get both plays in. You can’t throw the ball and run the ball [on the same play].”
