Training Camp -- Day 1 rundown.

[Daseal]

Hey Guys,

Had a blast at camp as hot as it was. There were a few big things.

First things first, big number 45 (Sellers) went down and was carted off the field. From first glance it DIDN'T look serious. He was on the ground for a bit, got up without putting weight on his leg, then next thing I knew he was back on the ground and carted inside. If I had to guess I'd guess minor, but you never know.

As far as pictures go, Ill be sorting through them tomorrow. I had just an awful vantage point for pictures, so most won't be worth anything. But I was able to sneak in some good views of the offense.
The Good:
Andre Carter: This kid is a beast. He made both Jansen and Samuels looked stupid. He damn near just knocked Jansen over and just crushed his competition. Phillip Daniels did really well too. We could have a pass rush from the front four this year. Hold on to your seats!
The WRs:TAYLOR JACOBS WATCH! Made some great catches. All these guys are great. Even the rookies. This will be a much stronger position than I thought!
The Bad:
Jon Janseon Brother didn't show up today. He was getting pushed around and owned by the defensive linemen.
Randy Thomas He gets a bit of a break coming off an injury, and he redeemed himself with a good performance the 3rd time they went. C Griff. put him in his place though.
Mark Brunell If our season ends up relying on him, it could be bad. It's the first day of training camp and offensive players, especially QBs take the longest to come around. So take this as a grain of salt right now. But that was my observation for the day
Offense:
First things first. If you thought hiring Al Saunders was a good signing before. Wait till you see him in training camp. This guy is nuts! When they were doing 11s on 11s. He'd follow the running back yelling at them. Then he'd give them props at the end of the run. It wasn't a jog either, he's full out sprinting after these guys. At one point the crowd roared when he damn near outran Taylor Jacobs telling him he better push it to the endzone fast! This guy was what Bugel is to our OLine to our skill positions.

Most of the offensive line guys looked very good. I had a great view of Dline vs Oline. Dockery looked really impressive, rabach looked great too. Samuels did solid, Randy Thomas didn't quite look 100%, and Jansen looked.. poor.

The RB position. Boy do we have a flock of big boys. The RB position looked more like our Oline. Portis didnt get a ton of reps, but broke his first run in 11s to the house untouched. Looked good. Rock looked awesome. Betts dropped the rock once or twice but looked solid. Jesse Lumdsen (37) was a big suprise out there.

The WR position. Who the hell are we going to cut. Santana Moss dropped a lot of balls, and if this were a blind race, he might have been on my cut list. He dropped a lot of punts, dropped a lot of balls, didn't seem to try very hard for some (and that cost him when Archelleta put a hit on him after half assing a ball). That said, they ran a reverse to him, and christ is he a quick little bastard. He weaved through the defense to the house. Exciting play. Half the crowd was looking on the wrong side of the field (including myself for half the play) because it was run so great. Lloyd and Jacobs made some really big catches. Randel El looked solid. Ataveus Cash (WHO #13) looked very good. As did Mike Espy (#11). Jimmy Farris and Thrash made plays too. I would not want to have to make the cuts here.

The QB position. Im a bit biased, but I thought Brunell looked bad. Throwing into double coverage. Putting it high and low. Wasn't very accurate. Campbell looked good. For the most part on, his deep ball is extremely pretty. Todd Collins didn't do much to impress me, but he's a decent 3rd stringer (cant see him passing Campbell). That said, it's the first day of training camp and a new system. I'll give Brunell a break.

Overall: The groups looked really good. Cooley looked very fast and solid out there. Played strong, didn't really notice any other TEs (Fauria) doing much. Our offense looks solid, we didn't see a ton of passing out of the QBs, but when we did it was solid. Al Saunders is just an amazing coach, he was out there running and working hard. Loved to watch it, got the crowd pumped. Etc. Unfortunately, our O-Line isn't looking horribly great. I thought this was sure to be the strongest part of our team but they struggled a bit out there. Hopefully this gets pulled together or it could hurt us!

Defense:
Defensive Line: WOOOOOOO WHEEEEEEEE. These guys were looking slim and mean. I knew they'd be tough when the whole team during stretches got on all fours, lifted a leg, and started twirling it around (remind anyone else of a certain sack dance?). Daniels, Griffin, and Carter all put huge moves on O line starters. Really loved seeing that. Other notables that did well were Salava'e (sp?) and Renaldo Wynn. I really like what I saw from this group.
Linebacker: Definitely not looking like our strongest position. They played well, but nothing spectacular. No one made a big play from LB position where I got excited. I think that part of it was I wasn't able to get a good look at them, but from my limited exposure, not much here. Marcus Washington didn't seem too pumped today, maybe it was just me!
Cornerback: Carlos Rogers and Shawn Springs both looking really good. The nickle guy (forget his name) was looking pretty solid too. I think this will be our strength unless the opposition spends a lot of time in 3-4 receiver sets. Our starters are strong though.
Safety: First of all, I found it a bit interesting that Sean Taylor wasn't in the starting lineup. We had Arch and Prialou (sp) back there. To me that sounds like the NFL will be handing down a suspension of some sort on Mr. Taylor. Not a good sign. Taylor Jacobs also picked a ball out of the air that should have been Seans to the house. Great play by Jacobs, little lazy by Taylor. Arch looked solid. Put a big hit on Sanatana Moss, looked good against the run -- all around a solid group again.
Overview: I feel our defense has some serious questions at LB and DB depth, but I think we'll be top 10 with an aggressive scheme and lots of talent starting. Good performance by them today. They were hitting hard and with attitude, which we just love to see!

Final Thoughts: It was a great time and our team looks good. There's still a lot of work to be done. I'm excited to watch Williams and Saunders who seem to have a very similar mentallity attack attack attack. As training camp rolls along we'll see more complex drills and our running game was already looking very good. RB screen plays were going for big yards too. Especially with Rock and Portis.

If you have any questions, post em here and I'll do my best to answer them!

[SmootSmack]

Nice job Daseal. What I'm hearing about Sellers was leg cramps.

[Sammy Baugh Fan]

Great job baby brother.
Awesome reporting and straight from the hip.
I like it and this is why I come here.

thewarpath.net knows stuff before ANYONE.

peace and thanks

[That Guy]

good report.

taylor is probably 2nd string cause of missed workouts (again). this is the third time it's happened to him in 3 offseasons. GW wouldn't do that cause of a league suspension that hasn't been announced yet.

sucks our OL and moss were dogging it, hopefully they'll be up and up by friday when i go check it out.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Daseal

The Good:
Ataveus Cash (WHO #13) looked very good.

Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about

[Warpath]

Excellent. I will be tuned in every day for the updates!

[724Skinsfan]

Thanks Daseal! That was great.

[cpayne5]

Nice writeup, Daseal.

[diehardskin2982]

I was there too It was hat as hell out there! The best place for picks that I saw was at the top of the hill as you come in, alot of people where there sitting but from that position you can see the all the fields. Are u in the media/ hospitality section? If not come early crowd come quick for these practices Also go to Home Depot, get yourself a small ladder like a 4ft one, it could give you an advantage in the crowds to stand on one of those. Good job man!

[gibbsisgod]

thanks daseal!!!

did the o seem to be grasping the playbook?? was everybody on the same page or was brunell and the other qbs throwing to places where nobody was? i think that is a good indicator of players not knowing the system. great job and i will be looking forward to everybody elses opinions on the team since i wont be able to attend any practices.

[Riggo44]

Thanks Daseal! Your report is very much apprciated by all of us that can't get to camp.

[GTripp0012]

On the offensive end, did everything happen smoothly, or was their a lot of coaching necessary before or after the play?

[BrudLee]

Musings...

I wonder how much of Brunell's inaccuracy was because of his hand injury from minicamp?

Was the nickel guy Kenny Watson? We should expect a lot out of him - he was a starter for Jax last year.

I wonder if Taylor's teammates got in his grill after last year's excuses and mediocre play. If they really think he's as good as they claim, they should demand he show it in every practice and game situation he gets in.

[gibbsisgod]

i didnt think ths was worthy of a new thread since daseal did such a good job but this is from redskins.com

Practice Blog: First Day Is a Wrap


i love this excerpt...

Gregg Williams is in mid-season form. After special teams work, the offense and defense shifted to separate fields. The first task for his charges? Up-downs. 40 of them in all. After the last rep, Williams shouted out, "And that's 40. Welcome back." Then, after issuing instructions, players walked toward their position coach. Williams barked, "We don't walk here. We don't walk here." Players broke into a jog. 4:30 p.m. ET

[gibbsisgod]

Originally Posted by BrudLee

Musings...

I wonder how much of Brunell's inaccuracy was because of his hand injury from minicamp?

Was the nickel guy Kenny Watson? We should expect a lot out of him - he was a starter for Jax last year.

I wonder if Taylor's teammates got in his grill after last year's excuses and mediocre play. If they really think he's as good as they claim, they should demand he show it in every practice and game situation he gets in.

kenny watson was a rb for us a couple of years ago, i think you mean kenny wright. sorry to be so That Guy on you!