Sunday, August 06, 2006

Vision Quest: The Final 53 Post Ravens Scrimmage

The Redskins and Ravens renewed their rivalry this last Saturday by scrimmaging against each other for the second straight year, this time at Fed Ex. Big deal right? It is only a scrimmage who will watch that? Not only did over 47 thousand fans show up to watch the scrimmage the NFL Network carried it on tape delay later that night. By the lack of mullets and felony convictions in the crowd along with the virtual sea of Burgundy and white we can assume mostly Redskin fans were there. The crowd was so lively and so numerous that Brandon Lloyd, our new Wide Receiver from San Francisco remarked that it was better the regular season crowds at his former NFL home.

Yes sir we love those Redskins.

The Redskins ran special teams drills, 7 on 7 drills, and full on 11 on 11 drills. And even though the scrimmage was controlled and mainly the backups played we did learn a few things about our Redskins:

The Saunders offense sure does benefit the TE. We now know that Tony Gonzales is a good TE, but he definitely benefited from the Saunders offense. If you look at the way the TEs were thrown pass after pass in both the 7 on 7 or 11 on 11 drills it’s almost unfair. Whether it is Cooley, Fauria, or Johnson LBers are going to have a tough time covering them and our wide receivers.

The Canadians are fighting for the same spot. Gibbs decided not to run Portis, Betts, or Cartwright in the 11 on 11 drills. That means there most likely is NOT a competition for the third running back spot as believed by many fans. More likely is that Carter and Lumsden are battling for the fourth RB spot. Whether that will be on the PS or the full roster remains to be seen.

The Defense is going to be huge this year Baltimore simply could not run the ball against our starting unit and when they passed they were under constant pressure resulting in Marcus Washington’s Interception for a TD. They simply were all over the place and will be a formidable unit against any offense.

Marcus Washington is the undeniable leader of the defense Speaking of Marcus Washington, he was simply everywhere in the scrimmage. Whether he was laying hits or congratulating teammates he is the heart of the championship team we hope to build.

? Taylor is playing with a mission If Washington is the heart of the defense, Taylor is the soul. Taylor did much more then give Baltimore’s Mike Anderson a concussion by hitting him on two consecutive plays so hard that his children won’t be able to do math tomorrow. He sent a message to the league. There will be a price for running up the middle against the Redskins, and that price’s # is 21.

There is one date the players are focusing on. That’s Aug 29th, the day when NFL teams must cut down to 75 players. That leaves just the 3 pre-season games to prove your worth. And for the lucky players remaining leaves another deadline, September 2nd, when teams cut down to their final 53. One day later 8 lucky players will get named to the practice squad and avoid the end of their NFL career. This is how I see it at this point:

Quarterback
Allotted Roster Spaces:
3
Projected Starter: Mark Brunell
Projected Backups: Jason Campbell, Todd Collins
Outside looking in: Casey Bramlet

Nothing happened here in the scrimmage to change a thing. Mark Brunell is the unchallenged starter and is looking confident in that role. Todd Collins and Jason Campbell are battling for 2nd string with Campbell the presumptive lead. Casey Bramlet showed no reason to even spend a PS spot on him.

Running Back
Allotted Roster Spaces:
3
Projected Starter: Clinton Portis
Projected Backups: Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright
On the Bubble: Jesse Lumsden, Kerry Carter,
Outside looking in Johnathan Combs

The top 3 from last year, (Portis, Betts, and Cartwright) remain in place. Jesse Lumsden and Kerry Carter are both turning heads in practice and the scrimmage but they most likely are battling for a single Practice squad spot. Johnathan Combs absence from the field on Saturday speaks volumes about his place on the depth chart. The former practice squad player is probably gong to be among the first cuts.

Full Back
Allotted Roster Spaces:
2
Projected Starter: Mike Sellers
Projected Backup: Nemo Broughton
On the Bubble: Manny White

Mike Sellers showed some good blocking on Saturday and will continue to hold the top spot in his grasp. Nemo Broughton showed skills in the fullback and running back position and could be a good combo back and emergency tailback. Manny White is on the Bubble though and will be battling Nemo for the 2nd spot the whole way.

Wide Receiver
Allotted Roster Spaces:
5
Projected Starters: Santana Moss, Brandon Lloyd
Projected Backups: Atwaan Randle El, David Patten, James Thrash
On the Bubble: Steven Harris, Mike Espy, Richard Smith
Outside looking in: Taylor Jacobs, Ataveus Cash, Jimmy Farris

The top 5 remain the top 5. Taylor Jacobs and Ataveus Cash did nothing to move into the 5th WR spot and barring a big couple of games in the pre season will be among the first cuts. Espy, Harris, and Smith all had nice catches and ran pretty good routes. They most likely are battling for one or two Practice squad spots.

Tight End
Allotted Roster Spaces:
3
Projected Starter: Chris Cooley
Projected Backups: Christian Fauria, Robert Johnson
On the Bubble: Buck Ortega
Outside looking in: Calen Powell

Cooley, Fauria, and Johnson all had a productive scrimmage. Johnson though had a couple of drops and one would be fumble. Still the top 3 probably won’t be unseated. Buck Ortega could make a case as he has had some good practices but will need to show up in the preseason games. Calen Powell needs to show something as well.


Offensive Line
Allotted Roster Spaces:
9
Projected Starter: Chris Samuels (LT), Derrick Dockery (LG), Casey Rabach (C), Randy Thomas (RG), Jon Jansen (RT)
Projected Backups: Mike Pucillo (G/C), Jon Alston (T), Jim Molinaro (T) Tyson Walter (G/C)
On the Bubble: Jonta Woodard, Keli Lefotu, Ikechuku Ndukwe, Jim Jones, Chris Pino

Again more changes. I think we saw who the coaching staff sees as the reserve group of linemen. Pucillo and Walter the off season additions as well as Alston and Molinaro seem to have a heads up in the final 9. Zeek most likely will battle for a PS spot with Lefotu, Woodard, and the rest. However any stumble over the next 3 weeks and a roster spot could open up quickly.

Defensive Line
Allotted Roster Spaces:
9
Projected Starter: Andre Carter (RE), Phillip Daniels (LE), Cornellius Griffin (DT), Joe Salave’a (DT)
Projected Backups: Renaldo Wynn (DE), Demetric Evans (DE), Anthony Montgomery (DT), Cedric Killings (DT), Kedric Golston (DT)
On the Bubble: Manaia Brown, Vaka Manupuna, Joe Sykes,
Outside looking in: Ryan Boschetti, Nic Clemons, Karon Riley

Not much change here. Brown, Manupuna, and Sykes may be looking to impress coaches enough to warrant a PS spot. Boschetti, Clemons, and Riley are out of PS opportunities and would need to unseat one of the 9 ahead of them. Not likely.

Line Backer
Allotted Roster Spaces:
7
Projected Starter: Warrick Holdman (WLB), Lemar Marshall (MLB), Marcus Washington (SLB)
Projected Backups: Rocky McIntosh (OLB), Khary Campbell (MLB) Chris Clemons (OLB), Kevin Simon (MLB)
On the Bubble: Spencer Havner, Robert McCune

Warrick Holdman simply looked horrible in the scrimmage. The only time I noticed him was when he was being blocked 15 yards down the field b y a wide receiver. He will have to do better or McIntosh who seemed to be around the ball a lot when he was in will win the starting spot, rookie or no. Campbell and Simon both played well. Havner looked lost at times but Clemons did as well. McCune was not really seen at all.

Defensive Back
Allotted Roster Spaces:
9
Projected Starter: Shawn Springs (CB), Carlos Rogers (CB), Sean Taylor (S), Adam Archueletta (S)
Projected Backups: Kenny Wright (CB), Ade Jimoh (CB), Christian Morton (CB), Pierson Prioleau (S), Reed Doughty (S)
On the Bubble: Dimitri Patterson, Dennard Wilson, Curry Burns, Chris Hawkins, John Eubanks, Aric Williams

Reed Doughty seemed to play the run well but got lost in pass coverage. However Pierson Prioleau lined up at a variety of positions, including corner. In fact he could be our nickel back if Wright does not work out. Morton did not play entirely well but no one stepped up to overtake him either.

Specialists
Allotted Roster Spaces:
3
Projected Starter: Derrick Frost (P), John Hall (K), Ethan Albright (LS)
On the Bubble: David Lonie (P)
Outside looking In: Tyler Jones (K)

Lonie shanked a couple of punts in the scrimmage and Frost looked pretty good. You would have to be crazy to think that he is ahead right now. But it is a long pre-season and anything could happen. Hall seems to be firmly entrenched as the kicker despite going 1/3 and Jones is just auditioning for the first phone call if Hall goes down to injury.

Practice Squad Predictions:

RB Jesse Lumsden:
Another strong showing by Lumsden. But Carter had a pretty good showing as well. Lumsden is fast but Carter seems to make people miss. This one will come down to the first mistake made by either of the Canadians

OL Ikechuku Ndukwe & Jasper Harvey: Harvey looks good but he is third at Center right now. Zeke will take another year at PS and develop into a decent reserve.

TE Buck Ortega: Buck is behind the top 3 and will spend the year prepping to be ready in case of injury.

DB Dimitri Patterson & Dennard Wilson: No real reason to put them here besides there probably will be two DBs on the PS and these guys seem to stand out over the rest.

WR Mike Espy: Another strong practice and a strong scrimmage. This kid is raw but could be very good someday.

LB Spencer Havner: Havner looks to be lost at times and spending a year on the PS getting used to the NFL will be invaluable.

LB Philippe Gardent : NFL Europe put him here, and here he will stay till the end of the year, or the end of NFL Europe….whatever happens first.

On to Pre Season football where we play Cincinnati this Sunday. It should give our rookies a chance to show what they got.


Until next time Hail to the Redskins!!!!

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