1. Left tackle Trent Williams missed practice because of a bone bruise suffered in Thursday’s 7-6 preseason win over Buffalo. Coach Mike Shanahan said Williams is “pretty sore right now. We have to play it day by day. I know it’ll be a few days. It’s wait and see right now.”
Williams, having an outstanding camp, is the fourth member of the starting offensive line to be sidelined. Right guard Chris Chester, who sprained his ankle in practice last week, is about 85 percent recovered, Shanahan said. But left guard Kory Lichtensteiger (knee) remains sidelined until the regular season. And right tackle Jammal Brown (hips) is still rehabilitating.
“I can’t say there’s much improvement,” Shanahan said of Brown.
2. Also, backup left guard Maurice Hurt did not practice because of inflamed tendons behind his knee. Shanahan said he wasn’t sure if Hurt would practice Monday.
3. Jordan Black, who signed after camp began, worked with the starting offensive line at left tackle on Saturday. Rookie Josh LeRibeus worked with the No. 1 offense at left guard.
“You’re always disappointed when somebody goes down,” Shanahan said. “But it’s the nature of the game and that’s why you need a little depth…. We have more depth than a year ago and [it’s] a good thing we do.”
4. Defensive end Jarvis Jenkins (flu-like symptoms), corner Morgan Trent (knee/shoulder), receiver Anthony Armstrong (shoulder) and fullback Darrel Young (hamstring) did not practice. Shanahan said Armstrong likely will play at Chicago on Saturday. But Young will miss at least another week.
“He’s running about eight miles an hour on the treadmill,” Shanahan said of Young. “I’m afraid if I put him in too quickly he’ll re-injure that hamstring.”
Young said he jogged before the game Thursday and said he feels “10 times better.”
5. As for Black, he said he’s gained about 10 pounds since arriving in Ashburn. He’s still lighter than what he used to weigh (305 pounds).
“What I’ve noticed is all that little things that used to be difficult, getting down into a stance, stuff like that, is [easier],” Black said. “I’m a lot more explosive being lighter.”
6. Rookie Adam Gettis said he quickly learned that the NFL is a faster game played by larger men. But he said the one thing he doesn’t worry about is how it looks when he’s blocking a defender. So he knows on occasion he’ll get bent over a little bit when blocking a rusher. It’s happened in practice and it happened in the game Thursday. But the one time it happened in the game? His guy didn’t move him; in fact, he was only a yard from the line of scrimmage when the pass was attempted – every other linemen was a few yards deeper.
“I’m a smaller guy, 6-2, 298 pounds going against 330-pound guys,” he said. “As long as you got good technique and hold him back, as long as he doesn’t touch the quarterback that’s what it’s all about.”
7. Pierre Garcon’s philosophy on getting yards after the catch: “I try to get the ball and try to get as many yards as I can. That is part of my game. I try to get as much as I can because I never know when I am going to get the ball again. I give it my all when I do and be satisfied when it is over.”
8. No full practice report Saturday because the practice wasn’t much of one. They worked for nearly two hours, but in shells and at less intensity than normal – not a lot, but enough.
But a couple things stood out:
…Rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins still put a jolt into a couple plays with his arm. On both occasions Cousins was chased from the pocket. The first time he slid to his right, set his feet and threw deep down the left side for receiver Samuel Kirkland, who beat Travon Bellamy. Later, Cousins again was chased to the right and unloaded a deep pass to receiver Aldrick Robinson, who beat David Jones.
…Punter Sav Rocca worked a little bit during the special teams portion of practice and was inconsistent, as he was Thursday. Rocca was inconsistent during the Bills game as well, with one punt having a hangtime around 3.5 seconds and another around 5.2. One reason the Redskins punt coverage excelled last year was Rocca’s punts – and his hangtime in particular.
…Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan seems to be doing a better job this year of staying low and getting more explosion off the ball. Kerrigan showed a little of that Saturday when he quickly got off the ball, got under the pads of tight end Fred Davis and got into the backfield, forcing a back to cut upfield too soon.
…Tight end Niles Paul struggled catching the ball vs. Buffalo, but his hands were fine Saturday. Paul caught two passes during full-team work. The ironic thing about Paul is that the concern some had over his switch to tight end was blocking. But he handled that role well Thursday, showing quick feet and good hands. Paul was able to hook ends and linebackers by quickly getting his feet in position and then using his hands to hold them off. Another time Paul got downfield quickly to throw a block. He won’t be asked to block straight ahead at the line too often, which allows him to focus on using quickness and not strength.
…Receiver Leonard Hankerson’s size makes him tough to defend on certain routes, and it’s a reason why Brandon Banks has some issues. As we saw the other night, defensive backs can run right through Banks to break up a pass (he’s also a small target for a QB over the middle, unless he has separation). Tougher to do that against Hankerson, partly because he’s big but he also plays even bigger by extending his arms far when he receives the ball. Saturday, corner Josh Wilson tried to come over him to defend a pass, but to no avail. Hankerson’s body and arms shielded him from the ball.
