Daniels Hurt as Training Camp Begins (Updated)
Phillip Daniels injured his left knee a little over an hour into practice, which ended at about 10:10 (lasting a little more than 90 minutes), and was taken off the field on a cart. He and the guys were doing nine-on-nine drills and it wasn't clear exactly how the injury occurred. He lay on the field for a few minutes with players and trainers around him; Andre Carter came over and gave him a hug. Demetric Evans stepped in for Daniels, but he's the only guy with any real experience to play that defensive end position.
Lest anyone thought there would be repercussions for Shawn Springs missing OTAs, put that out of your mind. He was on the field in his usual spot with the first-team defense in 11-on-11s. Coach Jim Zorn had said that Stephon Heyer would come in to spell Chris Samuels and that already has happened. Heyer is in there in the 11-on-11s.
Devin Thomas (No. 11) has scored points with the crowd, at least. He beat Matteral Richardson for a nice gain on a slant and got a big cheer.
The Redskins have added a new wrinkle to camp...enormous tubes that are covered with tarps, providing shady spots in which players can seek relief from the heat and the sun. Lots of veterans are congregating there and they're the talk of the fans in attendance...or they were until Daniels got hurt.
All the players who were expected to be on the field were present. The only ones not participating in drills were, as expected, Erasmus James and Carlos Rogers, both of whom are recovering from knee injuries. Neither was in pads, although, interestingly, Rogers was wearing a helmet. James was working with trainers; Rogers was hanging out with the defense, listening to the coaches, while players did drills. About 45 minutes into practice, players were moving into scouting drills: offense vs. offense, defense vs. defense.
Just a note on how we're doing business during training camp and in practices beyond: Jason La Canfora and Jason Reid are on the field, phoning and texting me (Cindy) with updates.
This will almost undoubtedly be a more intense and physical camp than what we've seen in the past four years. Even with Zorn giving the veterans many afternoon practices off, the mere structure of the practices - as well as their length on many days - points to a more physically demanding preseason.
The structure of camp is similar to what Mike Holmgren does in Seattle, other coaches said, and other West Coast teams like Tampa, Philly and Green Bay have a similar philosophy. The morning session is the toughest, and though Zorn spoke about pushing to three hours, players and coaches say two hours is the norm. The afternoon is much more specialized, often focusing on special teams, which allows for rest for the veterans. That practice is closed to the public.
Often in the afternoons there will be brisk 10-10-10 sessions, with players running through two cycles of offensive, defensive and special teams plays, and, again, with ample break and recovery time built into the practice. There won't be much one-on-one, nine-on-nine or seven-on-seven work in the afternoon, either, which is some of the most strenuous stuff out there, and often when injuries occur as well. Variety will be the key in the afternoon.
One thing players groused about under Gibbs was how long their days were. With meetings starting late, the day often ended after 10 p.m., giving them very little time to even make a few phone calls in the dorm before curfew (11). Under Zorn, their day will end at 9:30 for the most part, and generally once a week veterans will be excused from some portion of the evening meetings, giving them a day that ends around 6:30.
So that's a little primer on how things will go. With just 80-men on the roster (no NFL Europe exemptions anymore) and with an extra few weeks of training camp (with the extra preseason game because of the Hall of Fame Game), minimizing injuries will be vital, and one of Zorn's primary chores. As he said Saturday, he's walking a very fine line between getting players used to being pounded, and being ready for real contact in September, yet also keeping an older team - lacking depth in key spots - fresh and healthy for the real deal.
Jason Reid and I will send in more updates once practice gets going at 8:30. I've got a lot of stuff to get caught up on with you guys as well after taking my vacation time, and want to hit on a bunch of topics over the next few days, including the departure of my homeboy Jerry Coleman from 980 (still not over that one; this place ain't gonna be the same), Rocco taking his belated first steps, the perils of trying to sell a house in this crumbling economy (killing me slowly), my trip to Fenway Park to see the Sox in the Dunkin Donuts suite (first time sitting in a luxury suite, and it rocks beyond belief), and a bunch of other stuff.
Hope you guys are having a great summer. Bring on the football.
By Jason La Canfora |
July 20, 2008; 8:13 AM ET
| Category:
Jason La Canfora
Previous: Redskins Unrestricted: The Return |
Next: Phillip Daniels Update
Posted by: EaglesFanAdam | July 20, 2008 8:28 AM
You and me and the crickets, Adam....
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 8:29 AM
As you await news of the first tweaked hammy of the season, check out Les Carpenter's Jim Zorn story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/19/AR2008071901606.html
and Jason Reid's "My Dinner with Jason Campbell" piece:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/19/AR2008071901717.html
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 8:33 AM
Is camp over yet?
Posted by: bmo | July 20, 2008 8:42 AM
Carpenter's piece on Zorn was very insightful. Interesting when Zorn reported how people greet him in Virginia, with an attitude of "good luck, you'll need it"
A lot of folks on RI seem to take that same attitude as a foregone conclusion, that Zorn, having never been a head coach, is going to have a huge learning curve.
I just don't think that's the case - the head coach is a leader, and either Zorn has that capability, or he does not, but I don't think that's born of experience, but instead, what is inside you. I think that Zorn is going to surprise a lot of people this year (and hopefully for many to come) with his ability to plan a game, motivate his team and keep the time moving forward when things go wrong.
Posted by: John D in Houstonj | July 20, 2008 8:42 AM
Good news: no hammy pulls yet. For those not in DC, it's a typical summer day here: code red, no oxygen in the air. I ran four miles at 6:30 and it felt like you needed two breaths to get the usual amount you'd get in one. Also, there are thunderstorms in the forecast for later, as usual in the summer, and those often ended Gibbs' practices. Hopefully, they can get two in each day. It's gonna be nasty out there at 2, tho.
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 8:47 AM
Ah, normal Houston weather from late April to late September!
Posted by: John D ih Houston | July 20, 2008 8:57 AM
For those wondering, Fred Davis is on the field.
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 9:04 AM
I ran four miles at 6:30 and it felt like you needed two breaths to get the usual amount you'd get in one.
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 8:47 AM
Same thing over here on the Eastern Shore, Cindy. I drank four beers at 6:30 am and it is so humid (we're on tropical storm watch) that I had to drink two just to get what I usually get from one.
Learned a lot from Les Carpenter's piece on Jim Zorn. For me, the most interesting idea was near the end (p. 5, online):
"... people don't want to be excluded from their beliefs. What's so wrong with their beliefs? I say nothing."
That's my new goal for blogging on RI, even for the people with idiot beliefs. Oops. Okay, there are no idiot beliefs. All beliefs are created equal.
Posted by: talent evaluator | July 20, 2008 9:05 AM
See, Talent? Zorn is already leading.
I'm sorry, but it HAS to be better at the shore. That is my belief and I'm clinging to it.
For me, the interesting things were how ready he was to be a coach and yet how he let it come to him rather than pursuing it.
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 9:30 AM
It definitely is better here. And, I was wrong. My wife woke up and told me I drank eight beers, not four. It just seemed like four because of the humidity.
Look, Zorn was lucky. I tried that strategy -- waiting for things to come to me -- and it never worked except when I was ordering off Amazon.com. I should have had an agent. At least I could blame him for my failures.
Posted by: talent evaluator | July 20, 2008 9:36 AM
Zorn didn't need no stinkin' agent!
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 9:42 AM
Zorn didn't need no stinkin' agent!
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 9:42 AM
If he had that guy, Rosencrantz, representing him in the negotiations with Snyder he'd be so rich today that he wouldn't need to work.
Posted by: talent evaluator | July 20, 2008 9:48 AM
And being so rich that he doesn't need to work could come in handy at the end of the season if he gets Schottenheimered.
Posted by: talent evaluator | July 20, 2008 9:54 AM
An injury at one of their weakest positions. Not the way you'd like to start.
Posted by: MJ | July 20, 2008 9:56 AM
Go ahead and let Daniels bench 722 lbs in weight lifting and see what that does to his knees. Oh veterans know what they're doing in off-season conditioning, no need to worry. Right!!!
Posted by: enuff already | July 20, 2008 10:15 AM
Enjoy the luxury suite at Fenway, they are sweet!
Posted by: Justin | July 20, 2008 10:16 AM
"Schottenheimer" is a terrific verb (as is "LaVar"). I hereby add it to the bloxicon.
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 10:19 AM
hope daniel's is ok. Definately sounds like a tougher camp so far.
Posted by: duane | July 20, 2008 10:42 AM
Hi everyone
I just got home from Redskins Park, here are observations:
A big chunk of the crowd was yelling "Good catch, sleepy!" when Fred Davis would catch a ball, hahaha.
Justin Tryon looked pretty good...he had an INT followed by a wrestling match for the ball with Burl Toler. He also nicely broke up a pass shortly after.
Campbell was throwing a lot to Randel El - not sure if you can read into that or if it was by design.
Both Kelly and Thomas were making good catches all morning. At one point, Kelly tried had a ball thrown a little behind him and tried to catch it with one hand with no success. Not too long after, there was another pass thrown behind him but he adjusted nicely and grabbed it with two hands.
Sellers is huge.
Lorenzo Alexander looked to be playing with the defense all morning.
The first person to stroll over and greet the crowd after practice was over was Cooley
How can be it so uncomfortably hot at 9:00 in the morning? Stupid dc weather
I'll post a few pictures later
Posted by: swb | July 20, 2008 10:43 AM
beep beep
daniels update...new post.
Posted by: Cindy | July 20, 2008 10:57 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
How the hell am I the first poster on this thread?
Where did it all go wrong?
Adam