1. John Beck threw the ball better today. No wind probably helped, but, still his passes were a little tighter than they were on Tuesday. He did get picked off when one of his passes tipped off Logan Paulsen’s hands and into Chris Horton’s. Beck also threw a nice deep ball that Niles Paul grabbed in the end zone. Leonard Hankerson also made a nice grab of a Beck pass. Then again, Kevin Barnes broke up a play by breaking hard on an out route.
2. But here’s the thing. Don’t get carried away with anything that’s mentioned about the QBs at this time. Just know that Trent Green used to look bad enough in practice that one higher-up said it was a wonder he completed any passes in a game. And, as Rich Campbell reminded me in a conversation after practice today, Jason Campbell used to look all-world in practice. Key is how they look in games. When they have no helmets or pads? It’s fun to write about; it doesn’t mean a whole lot.
3. What we did learn is that Beck’s favorite merit badge en route to becoming an Eagle scout was the one for dog care. And that he spent his mission before going to college in Lisbon, Portugal. And that he became so fluent in Portuguese that he often dreamt in that language. And that he grew an inch and a half after high school. Cue the storylines about him being a late bloomer. Oh, yeah, and that he had little to no facial hair in high school. “I remember that I had a couple black hairs [between his chin and neck] that I plucked before going to prom. I wasn’t one of those guys that had the beard when he was 16.”
4. Four players joined the group Wednesday: PK Graham Gano, DE Jeremy Jarmon, FS Kareem Moore, and LB Rob Jackson. Meanwhile, four who made it Tuesday did not make it Wednesday: TE Fred Davis, RB Ryan Torain, S Macho Harris and LB Perry Riley. Anderson Russell has shown up both days even though he’s still limited. So the total once more was 41.
5. Funny to see WR Anthony Armstrong, with all of one year’s experience, teaching the young guys. But that’s the result of a unit with no other veterans under contract. Santana Moss likely will be back (once he sees the market is better for him here), but he’s not at these workouts. So it’s up to Armstrong. Wednesday, he worked with the young guys coming in and out of their breaks, how to take a hard plant with the left foot and turn inside to the right. He lingered after practice to work with Hankerson as Beck threw more passes. Like him or not, Beck will not be outworked. Anyway, back to Armstrong and his tutoring. First, he was not happy about the Redskins drafting three receivers. Not at all. But he knows his role. “A year ago I was a guy trying to tag along, listening to what everyone else has to say. Now I have to regurgitate that information and teach these young guys. It’s crazy.” One guy I am curious to see in training camp is Terrence Austin. Looks a little thicker in his upper body and he’s a hard worker who has good feet. Not sure where he fits after they drafted three wideouts however. That’s not exactly a vote of confidence for the entire group.
6. Gotta love Hankerson. On one side of his new Redskins ballcap is his website address: www.hanktime.com. Incidentally, he also has Hank Time tattooed on his right bicep, with a football in between the words. Don’t get the impression that he’s another prima donna wideout. Not sure that would be accurate. By the way, he knows the names of all eight receivers drafted ahead of him. He temporarily forgot the eight (Austin Pettis) but rattled off the first seven in less than a minute.
7. OK, it’s one thing for the media to make jokes about this – which we gladly would – but it’s another to hear it from a player. After one play when Kedric Golston fell to the ground, one player yelled out, “All right Haynesworth, get up!” Oh the memories that Albert Haynesworth’s two years will have provided (assuming, that is, there won’t be any more).
8. Looks like I’ll have to break out a May studs list, with one name: Kory Lichtensteiger. OK, so it wasn’t for any blocks. It was for his catch on a guard-eligible play – though perhaps he was a tackle on the play since, honestly, I wasn’t paying attention to him at the snap. The ‘Steiger had to lunge to his right to catch a Beck pass in the end zone, leading to hoots and hollers and even a sidebump from a teammate. This is what passes for fun in May. And to show you how light things are, afterward, when Lorenzo Alexander was being interviewed, Golston and Chris Wilson held up a banner that read, “Golston Real Estate.” Later, when Golston was being interviewed, Alexander was holding it up. Yes, Golston’s wife is a real estate agent and he was learning a little about the job this offseason.
9. Moore said he didn’t take the signing of safety O.J. Atogwe personal. “I didn’t see it as going out there to get this guy to replace me, or whatever you might say. I took it as I have to go work hard. He’ll push me, I’ll push him.” Moore is doing the rehab on his knee in Memphis and Alabama. “It’s tough because usually you have your training staff around and you can see the doctors whenever. Not having them around and not talking to them, and having a middle man, it’s kind of hard. [But] they’re still doing the same things I would do at [Redskins Park]. It’s still the same script from Dr. Andrews.”
10. My guy Maurice Hurt did not want to talk about testing positive for marijuana at the scouting combine. It didn’t seem to impact his draft status; he was viewed as a fringe pick anyway and he lasted until the seventh round. “It’s a mishap. I really don’t speak on it. It’s behind me now. I’m trying to move forward. I’m making steps in the positive direction and I’m leaving it in the past.” So there you go. In truth, teams don’t really worry about a positive test unless the guy is a habitual smoker. But there’s also something to be said for testing positive at the combine. You know you’ll be tested there and you still somehow put it in your system?
