VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Well sport fans had a treat this week. Had a special VIP invite to attend a closed session of Thursday's the last voluntary day of OTA's at Redskin Park this week. There where only ~50 invited for the final day.

It was a great time to say the very least.

One thing that was very clear Coach Shanny is in FULL control of everything going on at practice and he reminded me a lot of a earlier version of Joe Gibbs.

This was a very fast paced and exciting practice. A few observations:

Haslett has these guys sold on the 34 and the execution was well done. We have a very talented group, with or without Fat Al., there where to many standout players to mention. The DB's are attacking the ball, when the WR's are making catch's the DB's are swinging to get the rock out and Tana had two back to back slants that were both punched out. On the second he got up and screamed F*CK! I was very pleased to see this kind of progression so early on. It was VERY SPIRITED! The team is flying.

The O-Line looks sharp as well, very together Trent Willliams is a total stud! This kid will impress right away.

The Yellow shirts McNabb/ Rex looked sharp. Bartel and Colt looked behind, Colt looked futher behind on Thursday to me even more as the wind picked up.

Two minute drills where great to watch with the coachs off the field. Of course the D is a little bit ahead of the Offense. But highly spirited again! With 2 point conversions as well, with good excution.

The team as it stands a few players that stood out Thursday: T. Williams, Armstrong, Davis, Furrey, Kelly, Moore, L. Johnson, RACK.

Didn't stand out or looked off: Tana, Rogers, Tyron, Colt.

Out of action, not on the field: CP, Carter, LL, Rocky, Rino, Fat AL.

Had a nice time talking to the players/Coach/GM all that I spoke to are stoked on the changes and progress. Notable conversation's Bruce Allen, Coach Shanny (Has very big expectations for this season!) Chris Samuels, Rack, Fletch, Draft, Maake, Blades and a few others that aren't coming to mind.

Was treated to a great luncheon as well. First class all the way.

There where not to be any camera's as per Coach (Until we spoke to him and he said no problem...). But was able to smuggle and get 20 shots or so of the action and Player Coaching staff interaction. Will have to post a few pix.

We have the manditorys coming up Wednesday not sure about any open to public this season? Have any of you folks made it out this season on invite or will you if public sessions?

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Nice! Good inside info. Thanks for the post skinsfan_nn. I'm jealous. I'd love to have that kind of inside look at the team.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Excellent reporting skinsfan!

I don't think you mentioned Carriker...any insight there?

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

That's awesome. Not so great about Rogers and Tryon not looking sharp. Because I've also not heard good things this spring about Barnes either. Still early though

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Very good info, well done.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Great stuff skinsfan nn! Thanks for sharing it with us!

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=SmootSmack;706094]That's awesome. Not so great about Rogers and Tryon not looking sharp. Because I've also not heard good things this spring about Barnes either. Still early though[/quote]

Swiping at balls is not a pretty sight for the general public!

:)

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

I can only handle so man reports like that before I stroke out.....waiting for the sesason to....START!
Thanx Skinsfan

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=SmootSmack;706094]That's awesome. Not so great about Rogers and Tryon not looking sharp. Because I've also not heard good things this spring about Barnes either. Still early though[/quote]

Right, some guys are gonna have off days. We'll be able to tell alot more at camp where we can judge over the course of a a couple months...

Good to hear Trent Williams looking solid though.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

No problem guys, glad I could give some insight. On such a wonderful and treat special invite.

Goat, I dropped the ball...he was actually in my thinking process when I was typing along on the looked good list. Just forgot to plug his name in.

Carriker looked in great shape as well as seemed to understand the Defensive 34 scheme very well, he really stuck out. In a good way!


[quote=The Goat;706093]Excellent reporting skinsfan!

I don't think you mentioned Carriker...any insight there?[/quote]

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Awesome man, glad to hear it.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Good info thanks skinsfan nn

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

thanks skinnsfan nn, what an awesome opportunity.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Hey great post, thanks a lot for this. We got more from this one post than Jason Reid has been able to give us all offseason!

To your eye, did it look like McNabb and Rex were getting the ball out in a timely fashion? Or were they pulling a Jason Campbell where they wait until the player's out of his break to throw the ball? Because that to me always indicates how well a QB understands the offense.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Hey thanks guys. No problem glad to share the day.

Both Rex/McNabb where quick to delivery, no time standing around thinking it was all timing/scheme. Kyle was very involved he knows exactly what he wants and made it clear that was understood when a mistake was made.

Rex clearly has been in Kyles system for some time and was noticeably very sharp in what Kyle wants. Very quick to deliver and very accurate. I was very pleasantly surprised in his abilities, he looked the sharper of the two for the first part of the day.

McNabb was a fuzz off, no hesitation, just wasn't hitting early on with a high percentage of completions (Accuracy: behind the WR that where in full stride, over the Top, a little long) but as the day progressed he improved and even scrambled a bit on design then would zip the ball down field. His long ball got honed in, when he got on track his long ball comes out pretty quick and hit the mark. As well as when they had goal line drills his fade and slant throws about perfect. Kelly can play great jump ball with outstanding hands, hope we see it in the regular season.

All in all both these guys and what they are being asked to do on this day did well and it appeared to come natural. No big long over thinking, waiting for the perfect pass to develop process involved. So there where no Jason Campbells on the field at least with Rex and McNabb. Which was great to see. McNabb is well on his way to fully understanding and working hard to get this Offense down. Rex was a suprise, he has clearly worked hard with Kyle and can excute this Offense pretty effectively now.

[quote=Schneed10;706139]Hey great post, thanks a lot for this. We got more from this one post than Jason Reid has been able to give us all off season!

To your eye, did it look like McNabb and Rex were getting the ball out in a timely fashion? Or were they pulling a Jason Campbell where they wait until the player's out of his break to throw the ball? Because that to me always indicates how well a QB understands the offense.[/quote]

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

McNabb was a fuzz off, no hesitation, just wasn't hitting early on with a high percentage of completions (Accuracy: behind the WR that where in full stride, over the Top, a little long) but as the day progressed he improved and even scrambled a bit on design then would zip the ball down field. His long ball got honed in, when he got on track his long ball comes out pretty quick and hit the mark. As well as when they had goal line drills his[SIZE=4] fade and slant throws about perfect[/SIZE]. Kelly can play great jump ball with outstanding hands, hope we see it in the regular season.

Hmmm.....Fade you say.........Not familiar with that????

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Hog, short version jump ball usually in the corner of the end zone to your big target.

Picture is worth a thousand words.

Its CJ but just for example purposes only, don't repeat this name ever again.

[URL="http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-play-pro-football-fade-route-w-calvin-johnson-320732/"]How to play pro football: Fade Route w/ Calvin Johnson | Video « Wonder How To[/URL]


[quote=Hog1;706169]McNabb was a fuzz off, no hesitation, just wasn't hitting early on with a high percentage of completions (Accuracy: behind the WR that where in full stride, over the Top, a little long) but as the day progressed he improved and even scrambled a bit on design then would zip the ball down field. His long ball got honed in, when he got on track his long ball comes out pretty quick and hit the mark. As well as when they had goal line drills his[SIZE=4] fade and slant throws about perfect[/SIZE]. Kelly can play great jump ball with outstanding hands, hope we see it in the regular season.

Hmmm.....Fade you say.........Not familiar with that????[/quote]

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=Schneed10;706139]. [B]We got more from this one post than Jason Reid has been able to give us all offseason![/B][/quote]

thats exactly what i was thinking.

like everyone else has said, great job skinsfann and thanks for the great insight.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Thanx skinsfan. I was being foolishly sarcastic of our previous regime.
GREAT COVERAGE from the OTA's

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Great one! I was thinking I know he knows what a fade route is, at least I'm pretty damn sure.

It has been a while sense the Skins have used such exotic schemes and stuff.....lol

I hope Kelly has a great year he can get up and get some hang time and has fast wheels. Armstrong was a tough kid that doesn't miss as well, will be interesting to see if he makes it he looked good.

And a side Furrey couldn't have been of a plane for to long this kid is tough and I saw him miss only one catch and it was man to man and the DB made a great play on the ball. He reminded me a lot of a bigger version of Wes Welker.

[quote=Hog1;706176]Thanx skinsfan. I was being foolishly sarcastic of our previous regime.
GREAT COVERAGE from the OTA's[/quote]

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=skinsfan_nn;706178]Great one! I was thinking I know he knows what a fade route is, at least I'm pretty damn sure.

It has been a while sense the Skins have used such exotic schemes and stuff.....lol

I hope Kelly has a great year he can get up and get some hang time and has fast wheels. Armstrong was a tough kid that doesn't miss as well, will be interesting to see if he makes it he looked good.

And a side Furrey couldn't have been of a plane for to long this kid is tough and I saw him miss only one catch and it was man to man and the DB made a great play on the ball. He reminded me a lot of a bigger version of Wes Welker.[/quote]

Been a while since the Skins have used such exotic schemes?? wow that Swinging Gate formation ( or whatever the hell you wanna call it) wasnt exotic enough for ya? being sarcastic of course

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=skinsfan_nn;706167]Hey thanks guys. No problem glad to share the day.

Both Rex/McNabb where quick to delivery, no time standing around thinking it was all timing/scheme. Kyle was very involved he knows exactly what he wants and made it clear that was understood when a mistake was made.

Rex clearly has been in Kyles system for some time and was noticeably very sharp in what Kyle wants. Very quick to deliver and very accurate. I was very pleasantly surprised in his abilities, he looked the sharper of the two for the first part of the day.

McNabb was a fuzz off, no hesitation, just wasn't hitting early on with a high percentage of completions (Accuracy: behind the WR that where in full stride, over the Top, a little long) but as the day progressed he improved and even scrambled a bit on design then would zip the ball down field. His long ball got honed in, when he got on track his long ball comes out pretty quick and hit the mark. As well as when they had goal line drills his fade and slant throws about perfect. Kelly can play great jump ball with outstanding hands, hope we see it in the regular season.

All in all both these guys and what they are being asked to do on this day did well and it appeared to come natural. No big long over thinking, waiting for the perfect pass to develop process involved. So there where no Jason Campbells on the field at least with Rex and McNabb. Which was great to see. McNabb is well on his way to fully understanding and working hard to get this Offense down. Rex was a suprise, he has clearly worked hard with Kyle and can excute this Offense pretty effectively now.[/quote]

Nice detail, thanks.

I'm happy to hear McNabb is not hesitating at this point. I'm not at all surprised that he's not connecting consistently with guys, but at least he's getting the ball out on time. If you don't practice getting it out in a timely fashion, you'll never get the timing down with the WRs (Campbell, are you listening??!). Might as well fling it around in practice, that's your chance to get the timing right.

I'd still expect some missed connections, even come the regular season. This entire offense is new after all (QB, coaches, scheme, linemen, etc.). But it's just so nice to hear that the same old awful problem with Campbell is out of here. I don't know what it was, but that dude just couldn't do things fast enough.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

I don't know if it's safe to assume that McNabb's error by trial in minicamp means that all of our QB problems are fixed, but I see what you are saying.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

That was great meat and potatos! I'm stuffed... but you do have dessert, right!?!

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=RememberRFK;706282]That was great meat and potatos! I'm stuffed... but you do have dessert, right!?![/quote]

We have you on a diet, there will be no dessert. LOL

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Here's a little late dessert, from an Outsider review of Thursday:

[URL="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/3-4-defense/moore-armstrong-starting-well.html#more"]Redskins Insider - Moore, Armstrong starting well[/URL]

"Coach Has brought a new defense in and it's just bananas," Moore said. "That's what I call it. It's just crazy. One time we might be in [cover] zero, the next time in three-deep. You just got to go out there and whatever he calls, make him believe we can play."
Moore said part of his improved play has come under the tutelage of safeties coach Steve Jackson. After two years of learning to be a professional, Moore said Jackson told him to get back to just playing.
"I feel like I'm more comfortable," Moore said. "One thing that helped me out was that Coach Jackson was just like, 'I know you got the ability to do it, just make plays and don't worry about nothing else.' So I've just been trying to carry that with me."
On the other side of the ball, wide receiver Anthony Armstrong has distinguished himself among a large group of receivers fighting for a spot on the roster.
Washington clearly has identified receiver as a position of need going into this season. There are 12 here in camp, including several veterans such as Joey Galloway and Bobby Wade. But Armstrong, who has had practice squad stints with Miami and Washington, has made several plays during OTAs, including hauling in a deep touchdown pass from quarterback Rex Grossman Thursday.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Am I correct and they do not have any OTA's in full pads? Nice report.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

No full contact until training camp

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Was out there too. Thought I'd re-post what I put in the Devin Thomas thread. I had a little different take on Grossman and Brennan, but overall I agree pretty much with skins_fan. Here were my thoughts....

Tempo was extremely fast. Linemen were coming off the ball very fast. Trent Williams was very effective in both run and pass blocking. Blew a guy of the ball on a run play to a point where I wouldn't want to be the other guy watching film.

Brennen looked better than Grossman. That surprised me with Grossman familiarity with the offense. It could be that Grossman was throwing to a place where the reciever should be and Brennen was finding his, but I didn't see anything that distinguished Grossman from the other backups.

McNabb is a leader. Flat out, the guy has the offense behind him. One example, when they make the play he is running up and bumping chests with the other guys. One of those intangible things that I think will help the teams chemistry.

Banks looks like a JV player (size wise) compared to the rest of the team. Fast as hell but REALLY small. He had a couple of chances to catch the ball on 20 yard patterns and alligator armed them... even though he knows he isn't getting hit. Looks like he will need to get pads on and see if he can survive the game with guys this size.

Danny Smith is still the loudest guy no the field. Nothing notable on special teams. Gano looked good but not a lot to talk about. Larry Johnson is doing everything he can to earn his spot. Looked very fast and made a couple of nice runs where the corners were trying to chase him down... and couldn't. Hits the hole with authority. I was very impressed.

Defense is commited to turnovers. They stripped Moss on successive plays where Moss had made nice catches which prompted a few choice expletives from Moss (understandably pissed at himself).

Mike Williams looks like a beast now. How can a guy that size have more chest than belly? He is now mauling guys and moving fast on the stretch plays. Could really be a bigger asset than people think.

Not much to say on coaches. Kyle was outside the huddles coaching up the QB's prior to the play. Dad watched from the side. They seem more committed to stretching the field. Lots of 20+ yard pass plays. Very few short plays. They were using recievers effectively in the run game. Thomas also excelled in that. Cooley and Davis caught a number of balls across the middle on some well designed plays. The defense finally figured it out and popped one up that almost got picked off.

The new guy, Furrey, looks like a Wes Welker type. I could easily see him making the team in some capacity because of his multiple abilities. His only downfall was his hands. His made some gutsy plays followed by some drops. If it was just a bad day, and his hands are better than what I witnessed, the guy could be an asset on short yardage plays and as a slot guy.

Defensive side was similar with Haslett doing more of the overview thing and position coaches working their guys play by play. Things just felt faster and stricter. I think it was 9 sets of 10 minute sessions. They went by fast and guys gave 100% the whole time.

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=skinsfan_nn;706454]Here's a little late dessert, from an Outsider review of Thursday:

[URL="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/3-4-defense/moore-armstrong-starting-well.html#more"]Redskins Insider - Moore, Armstrong starting well[/URL]

"Coach Has brought a new defense in and it's just bananas," Moore said. "That's what I call it. It's just crazy. One time we might be in [cover] zero, the next time in three-deep. You just got to go out there and whatever he calls, make him believe we can play."
Moore said part of his improved play has come under the tutelage of safeties coach Steve Jackson. After two years of learning to be a professional, Moore said Jackson told him to get back to just playing.
"I feel like I'm more comfortable," Moore said. "One thing that helped me out was that Coach Jackson was just like, 'I know you got the ability to do it, just make plays and don't worry about nothing else.' So I've just been trying to carry that with me."
On the other side of the ball, wide receiver Anthony Armstrong has distinguished himself among a large group of receivers fighting for a spot on the roster.
Washington clearly has identified receiver as a position of need going into this season. There are 12 here in camp, including several veterans such as Joey Galloway and Bobby Wade. But Armstrong, who has had practice squad stints with Miami and Washington, has made several plays during OTAs, including hauling in a deep touchdown pass from quarterback Rex Grossman Thursday.[/quote]

[IMG]http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/5692/skins1z.jpg[/IMG]

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[IMG]http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/6290/skins2z.jpg[/IMG]

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Gmanc711 and TMC thanks for putting up these pics.

Took GoSkins from the path to this VIP event we had an unbelievable time. Now we are closing in on training camp and into the season we go!

Here's to a GREAT 2010 REDSKIN FOOTBALL SEASON! :food-smil

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

Great post man!! Nice to hear that Trent Williams is looking good...he is probably the one I was most worried about. Any word on who he looked like a beast against?

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=GoSkins!;706729]

Mike Williams looks like a beast now. How can a guy that size have more chest than belly? He is now mauling guys and moving fast on the stretch plays. Could really be a bigger asset than people think.

[/quote]

Another great post man...thanks for the insight. Isn't Mike Williams out for the season with a blood clot?

Re: VIP trip to the OTA's Thursday, last voluntary camp day 2010
 

[quote=rbanerjee23;714228]Another great post man...thanks for the insight. [B]Isn't Mike Williams out for the season with a blood clot[/B]?[/quote]

Old news, but he's done for 2010.

[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5370584]Report: Washington Redskins' Mike Williams to miss 2010 seasons due to blood clots - ESPN[/url]