1. The player I’m most anxious to see against Baltimore is SLB Brian Orakpo. There have been many times people, myself included, have been wrong about a guy. They look great in practice, or at least decent (Taylor Jacobs) then get into games and go splat. So far Orakpo has looked terrific in some areas and still developing in others. Is he for real? I like how he seemingly has improved his footwork in taking on blockers off the edge; it allows him to maintain leverage and that’s important for a strongside ‘backer. Marcus Washingon excelled at that and the Redskins suffered when he wasn’t in the game. I do expect some bumpy spots for Orakpo at this position, but can he make the impact at end that it appears he will based on two weeks of practice?
2. Will the offensive line perform better? Maybe some guys have looked sluggish because of who they’re facing. It’s clear the defense is a couple steps ahead — for whatever reason. Then again, if certain guys want to make the roster or start (Chad Rinehart) then they must improve against quality players. The line does not need to look great Thursday; it would be hard for them to do that given the nagging injuries from practices. But they have to show they can be effective. And certain individuals must look better; Stephon Heyer was not as sharp this past week as he was last week.
3. The player who has surprised me most is Renaldo Wynn. I did not expect to see him look as spry as he has, not at 34 years old. I thought he would be insurance should Phillip Daniels not stay healthy. But he has looked good in practice; it helps that he’s lost 25 pounds on the advice of ex-Giant Michael Strahan. It’ll be nice to find out if Wynn’s practice performance says more about him or the players he’s facing.
4. The other guy who keeps jumping out at me, aside from half the defense, is tight end Fred Davis. If they can somehow get him the ball in space against a linebacker, he’ll be dangerous. Davis is athletic enough to plant, spin and reverse field on his routes. His hands have been much better than last summer, too. Again, a mirage or reality?
5. I’ll be watching the hands of a couple linemen a little more closely Thursday, starting with LG Derrick Dockery. In the past he would lunge too often at his opponent. In 2006, Dockery improved in this area. I still see flashes of it occuring this summer, but only on occasion. Mike Williams is the other one. When he gets in trouble, his hands tend to be on the outside of the defender. They need to be at their numbers, nice and tight so he can control them. This has typically happened in pass protection more than in run blocking. Is that rust or is that why he didn’t succeed before?
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sports/Jarmon-adjusts-his-summer-plans-8093466-53001197.html
