Training Camp Questions & Answers (SS33 Recap on Post #46)

Per JReid (via Twitter)

Carlos Rogers finally got back to me. He'll sign $1.54-million tender and practice Thursday.


Wait? Somebody talked some sense into Carlos?

He has the 100% worst hands of any db in the league, an injury history and did I mention that he is borderline retarded.

Cool.

There was a quick story the other day that stated we needed to cut 2 guys before camp. This was about a week ago. Did they get the roster down to size ( had to lose 2 guys because we were at 82 players ) or was that a piece of miss-information out there?

We are at 80, but for Carlos and TW to sign 2 must go. One, I would think, probably is Mike Williams, in some injury related move. Don't know who else will go. Maybe a DL guy since AH may be resolved...

Just hold off and go on the 3rd :)

Ha! Yeah well, I have to actually work on the 3rd

Whats happening with the RB competition? I've heard Larry Johnson might supplant Portis as the starter........

^

Not going to happen. Portis will be better than he has been in the past few seasons, ready to go and motivated. LJ will take plenty of carries but that will only help keep CP fresh.

If we get Westbrook, I could see he and CP lining up in the backfield, with BW going out for a screen...or even Westbrook lining up as a WR. Minimal carries.

I'm interested in two of our mid-round picks -- LB Perry Riley and FB/TE Dennis Morris. I'm curious to see how they look.

Just got back from camp a little bit ago. The majority of the practice was on the far field so getting a good view of the team drills was difficult.

Here's what I've got to answer questions and then a few observations & thoughts:

Starting OL: LT - T. Williams, LG - Dock, C - Rabach, RG - Hicks, RT - J. Brown
2nd Unit: LT - W. Robinson, LG - E. Williams, C - Lichtensteiger, RG - Rinehart, RT - Heyer

Starting WRs: Moss & Galloway
RBs rotation is: CP, LJ, WP, then others

For the OL, I was able to get a good view of the OL/DL 1-on-1 pass rush period. I gave a +1 if the OL controlled the DL or pushed them past the pocket. I gave an = if the DL got a slight push, but the OL maintained position between the DL and QB. I gave a -1 if the OL was beaten and a -2 if they completely whiffed. Here's how each OL performed:
69 - J. Brown: +3 / -1
75 - Hicks: +2 / -2
61 - Rabach: +1 / -3 (1 whiff)
66 - Dock: +1
72 - T. Williams: +4
77 - Rinehart: +2 / 2=
78 - Lichtensteiger: +2 / 2= / -2 (1 whiff)
73 - W. Robinson: +2 / 1= / -1
68 - Oldenburg: +2 / 1= / -1
60 - Capers: 1= / -2
50 - E. Williams: +2 / 2= / -3
63 - Montgomery: +2 / 2= / -2

The DL who stood our in the period were: Darrion Scott with 4 "wins", Rob Jackson with 3, and Vonnie Holliday with 2. Several others had 1 win.

On the OL, I think we'll be good at T (barring injury) with TW, Brown, Heyer, Hicks. Our interior line will struggle in pass pro, but should be solid in the run game. I wouldn't be surprised if Lichtensteiger takes over at C before the year is over. I also wouldn't be surprised if Rinehart doesn't move into a starting role at RG. I think E. Williams versatility keeps him on the roster. I see Capers on the practice squad.

Trent Williams appears to have good quick feet and a strong base. I was a bit concerned over his low bench numbers when compared to Okung, but he's having no issue adjusting to the speed of the NFL and didn't get man-handled by anyone.

McCardell is involved with the WRs. He's quiet but does talk with them. He stayed with the young WRs while they got work with the machine after practice. He had on the arm pads for bump work off the line.
The position coaches all are working with their groups but are not vocal to where you can hear anything from the sidelines. I'm sure they're much more vocal in meetings and closed practices.

Special Teams: No news is good news. No competiton at P & K. Bidwell and Gano both looked fine, nothing that would send up any red flags. Both kicked well. Gano nailed a 56 yarder and then missed a second one right. Leg strength doesn't appear to be any issue.
Austin, Brandon Banks, and Buchanon were fielding punts. At one point Moss was too.

Defensive Starters today: LDE - Daniels, NT - Kemo, RDE - Holliday
LOLB - Alexander, LILB - Rocky, RILB - Fletch, ROLB - Orakpo
LCB - Hall, S - Moore, S - Landry, RCB - Rogers
2nd Unit: LDE - Carriker, NT- not 100% but I think Bryant, RDE - Golston,
LOLB - Carter, LILB - Blades, RILB - Riley, ROLB - unsure
LCB - K. Barnes, S - Doughty, S- Horton, RCB - Buchanon

The defense is bringing pressure and moving folks around. Opposing QBs won't pre-read us as easily as last year for sure.

I asked Malcom Kelly what he felt the difference from this year to last year was and he said the offense is more complicated, but that it was a good thing because we won't be as predictable as last year. He said he expects his hamstring to be healed in "a week".

I asked Phillip Daniels how he felt in the 3-4. He said, "Good", and then laughed and said you mean the 3-7. That sounds great to me!! He also mentioned he feels like he's 28. He's in great shape and moving well.

Grossman knows the offense and is accurate in QB drill and pass skeleton. McNabb looks a little too relaxed in QB drills, his passes aren't always as crisp or on target as they should be. However after every poor/mediocre throw he comes back with a good throw. In pass skeleton he looked fine. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good view of the team drills to evaluate what was going on. My son and I met McNabb at the hotel in the elevator on the way down to head out for camp. We spoke briefly, he was pleasant and seems to be a good guy, although he looked a bit tired. At the end of practice, he looked tired as well, but went over to sign autographs for about a few minutes.

I wouldn't read too much into any of the QB performance right now. New personel, new offense, an aggressive D. McNabb is our starter, Grossman's the #2, Bartel/Beck will compete for the #3 and the other will wind up on the practice squad.

Other observations from Camp:
- In team there was a nice reverse with Parker that picked up about 9 yds.
- Grossman has a nice completion to Davis in a mid-deep zone.
- Landry made a great read and break up on a screen.
- Haynesworth has lost a great deal of weight. He was moving fine in drills. I'm sure the whole "conditioning test" thing and knee will be over by next week and he'll be practicing.
- In general, less flab all around compared to last year, especially on the OL/DL, Portis also.
- Weird, but very nice to see, Samuels in coaching gear.
- Defintely a more business-like approach than last year.
- KS is in control of the O, more complex route combos, progressions should be fast and obvious.
- Cooley and Orakpo were working together during a special team period. IMO, Orakpo is still going to be a liability in man coverage. Cooley also will not be blocking any D. Ware/Orakpo level folks one-on-one (LOL).
- TW and Dock got abused on a B-gap blitz in team. Not sure if it was them or the back failed to pick up. From far away it appeared to be a TW mis-read, but not sure.

Final thoughts:
- We will have an identity this year. Our D will be aggressive and hard to read. Our O will be a Zone Blocking base with lots of play actions (many PA waggles). Lots of bunch and crossing pass concepts. Our deep shots will come off play action a majority of the time.
- I think we will struggle offensively early, but fortunately the teams with good defenses we face early we have at home (Dallas, GB, Indy). The key will be to establish the run game, if we can we're in good shape. If not, then we'll struggle.
- Defensively we'll be more aggressive, but I think we'll give up some plays in the secondary. Overall our D will make more turnovers and negative plays, but I think we'll wind up in the 10-14 range in YPG and Pts at year end. The D should keep us in most games, but don't expect a dominant D (Jets, Steelers, Vikings).
- McNabb's ability to move around combined with a good ground game should have our O on track by mid-season. I don't see us blowing people out, but more of a methodical control the clock, be efficient, approach. McNabb's not a pure passer and our wide-outs are average (unless DT and Kelly make big strides). Our TEs will both be heavily involved.

Thanks for the quick hits SS33. If that O-Line can stay healthy and play well for 16 games, that would be a nice change of pace. Any weak links on either unit?

Just got back from camp a little bit ago. The majority of the practice was on the far field so getting a good view of the team drills was difficult.

Here's what I've got to answer questions and then a few observations & thoughts:

Starting OL: LT - T. Williams, LG - Dock, C - Rabach, RG - Hicks, RT - J. Brown
2nd Unit: LT - W. Robinson, LG - E. Williams, C - Lichtensteiger, RG - Rinehart, RT - Heyer

Starting WRs: Moss & Galloway
RBs rotation is: CP, LJ, WP, then others

McCardell is involved with the WRs. He's quiet but does talk with them. He stayed with the young WRs while they got work with the machine after practice. He had on the arm pads for bump work off the line.
The position coaches all are working with their groups but are not vocal to where you can hear anything from the sidelines. I'm sure they're much more vocal in meetings and closed practices.

Special Teams: No news is good news. No competiton at P & K. Bidwell and Gano both looked fine, nothing that would send up any red flags. Both kicked well. Gano nailed a 56 yarder and then missed a second one right. Leg strength doesn't appear to be any issue.
Austin, Brandon Banks, and Buchanon were fielding punts. At one point Moss was too.

More to come later.......

At first glance, although the overall quality of the OL is greatly improved over the unit we fielded last year, the depth is just not there at any position. As sad as it is, Heyer is the only that would be kind of comfortable given how much game experience he got last year.

Here's hoping Shanahan's OL coaching abilities come through and we avoid injuries.

Just got back from camp a little bit ago. The majority of the practice was on the far field so getting a good view of the team drills was difficult.

Here's what I've got to answer questions and then a few observations & thoughts:

Starting OL: LT - T. Williams, LG - Dock, C - Rabach, RG - Hicks, RT - J. Brown
2nd Unit: LT - W. Robinson, LG - E. Williams, C - Lichtensteiger, RG - Rinehart, RT - Heyer

Starting WRs: Moss & Galloway
RBs rotation is: CP, LJ, WP, then others

McCardell is involved with the WRs. He's quiet but does talk with them. He stayed with the young WRs while they got work with the machine after practice. He had on the arm pads for bump work off the line.
The position coaches all are working with their groups but are not vocal to where you can hear anything from the sidelines. I'm sure they're much more vocal in meetings and closed practices.

Special Teams: No news is good news. No competiton at P & K. Bidwell and Gano both looked fine, nothing that would send up any red flags. Both kicked well. Gano nailed a 56 yarder and then missed a second one right. Leg strength doesn't appear to be any issue.
Austin, Brandon Banks, and Buchanon were fielding punts. At one point Moss was too.

More to come later.......

Personally a little worried that Capers and Cook aren't working with that second unit. However it's still early in camp and they're late round rookies. It seems that unless you're a fourth overall pick like Williams that you have to truly earn your spot over the veterans.


At first glance, although the overall quality of the OL is greatly improved over the unit we fielded last year, the depth is just not there at any position. As sad as it is, Heyer is the only that would be kind of comfortable given how much game experience he got last year.

Here's hoping Shanahan's OL coaching abilities come through and we avoid injuries.

Well remember the main tackles that would be utilized for gameday would be Williams, Brown, and Hicks. For example if Brown goes down then Hicks kicks out and Rinehart comes in. If Williams goes down then Brown slides to LT, Hicks goes to RT, and Rinehart plays RG (or whoever else emerges as the best interior lineman).

I'm hoping right now that the only pure backup tackle that makes the roster is Capers. Though Cook is capable of playing every position along the line. God knows he has the size to play LT if need be, but hopefully it never comes down to that.