http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/ en-us Copyright 2006 Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:17:00 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Early reaction to the Redskins unusual quarterback rotation: Jason Campbell seemed pretty excited by the prospect of actually playing football this season, and took his "long-term" backup role as a major sign of faith. Todd Collins says he was "surprised," by the unconventional decision, and seemed a bit confused about how all of this might play out, but at least a semi-hopeful that should he get in a game and perform well, he might still got a shot at his first start since 1997. As for Al Saunders, he seems on board with everything, praised Campbell's progress in the latter stages of training camp, and, like Gibbs, said all you can really bank on is one week at a time, and entering Monday's opener, Collins in the guy behind Brunell. Any changes to this plan based on team performance, injuries, individual performances, etc. would be Gibbs's all the way, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/09/afternoon_update_couldnt_come.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/09/afternoon_update_couldnt_come.html Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:17:00 -0500 Okay, so we know that Todd Collins is the backup quarterback for Week 1. We know Jason Campbell is the No. 3 QB for Week 1 - exactly where he was a year ago. We know that if Mark Brunell gets in a game, Collins, unequivocally, is the man off the bench. Beyond that, I'm not sure that Joe Gibbs really cleared up too much Monday night. Anything else, whether it be in Week 2 or Week 8 or Week 13, well, that's subject to change. This is the plan for now, a plan that is set for Week 1, and, says Gibbs, would only change if Brunell got knocked or pulled from a game. To me, it's pretty clear what the pecking order is, and it's a great job of couching the situation by Gibbs and a great way to keep Campbell's spirits up and make him feel http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/09/whos_up_second.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/09/whos_up_second.html Tue, 05 Sep 2006 08:00:00 -0500 Hey there. Hope you're all having a great weekend. I'm trying to stay low key and do the family thing, but thought I would throw a lil somethin up here for the diehards. After the widespread NFL cuts came down Saturday there were a handful of players available I thought might interest the Skins. Some of them probably did, but the younger guys have to clear waivers first, and Washington's 10-6 record last year puts them low on the waiver claim list. A few older free agents are still out there, and could be had before the team heads back out to practice Tuesday. The name that jumped out at me most was Minnesota offensive lineman Chris Liwienski. He's played at a decent level in this league for a long time, and would surely be an upgrade for a second-string line that was punished regularly in the preseason. But, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/09/labor_day_blogette.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/09/labor_day_blogette.html Mon, 04 Sep 2006 13:12:00 -0500 So I'm shooting the bull with Wilbon outside FedEx Field around 12:30 Friday morning - after the exhibition with the Ravens - when who should stroll through but The Danny, and a couple of his well-suited businessman buddies. Dan and I say hello, and he and Wilbon kick it for several minutes as I stand off to the side, several feet away from the cool kids, idly looking at cab drivers and the odd stumbling drunk still in the parking lot . (Perils of traveling with Wilbon - For the second time in four preseason games some random inebriated dude approached us mid-conversation near a stadium to tell Wilbon something like, "I love you. I love you. Everything you say is true. Everything you say is true!"). Anyway, after The Owner and Mike finish up, Dan calls out my name and says that, "Vinny (Cerrato) asked me to tell http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/09/friday_late_morning_hback.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/09/friday_late_morning_hback.html Fri, 01 Sep 2006 11:24:00 -0500 Anyone else already dreading the drive to FedEx tonight? I hate these weekday night games. Inevitable traffic chaos. Even more parking lot bedlam than usual (I mean jammed up I-95, not the actual spots where people drop off their cars for $35 a pop). I'm thinking I'll be out of DC and on my way to DannyLand by 3:30 this afternoon to be safe. With the Ravens in town, there's bound to be plenty of Baltimorons (I write that with the utmost love and respect and can get away with that, since I'm a Baltimoron myself) making the trip. And all to watch the starters play probably a collective 12 plays. Oh well. Sometimes you don't get what you pay for, eh? I have to say, taking the logistics of this trip out of it, I still don't have high expectations for this game. The second half in particular http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/game_4_why_bother.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/game_4_why_bother.html Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:00:00 -0500 Wanna know why football is so much more popular than baseball these days. Three words: The Dugout Wizard. What the hell happened to The Baseball Bunch? We lived for that show every Saturday morning. TWIB in the morning - the only way for my friends and I to really see baseball highlights at the time before ESPN's BS "Web Gems" every stinkin' night - then Tommy Lasorda, Johnny Bench, Ozzie Smith and the entire gang from "The Baseball Bunch." (Anyone remember the name of the nerdy stat kid?). That show rocked, and it was huge in Baltimore City, I can tell you that much. We'd watch the fundamentals, it made baseball seem simple and fun and we'd go out and practice the drills in the park, then play wiffle ball in the alley behind my cousin Todd's house all night. We even built a backstop at one point. This http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/the_baseball_bunch.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/the_baseball_bunch.html Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:00:00 -0500 Someone posted on the blog last week that Skins long snapper Ethan Albright was the lowest rated player in the NFL on the Madden game. What a travesty. When I approached Ethan about it, he'd already heard. Some buddies emailed him about it. Seems odd to me though - the dude has not missed a game in the last 10 years and hasn't botched a snap in three years here, yet he gets kicked around by these tech geeks. Why? Just because he's a red-haired long snapper. Ethan's a great guy and I got to know him well last training camp when I did a big feature on the life of a long snapper. Ain't now way he's the worst snapper in the NFL. The man takes pride in his craft, and was clearly a little ticked off by his Madden treatment. "If they really want to be accurate http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/the_madden_curse_sort_of_1.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/the_madden_curse_sort_of_1.html Wed, 30 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0500 They whacked Eddie Johnson after practice, his first with the team. Johnson worked out this morning, showed well, was signed, had some fatigue during practice after punting and kicking so much this morning, and got the pink slip a little while ago. What a day. Frosty lives. Frosty lives. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/eddie_johnson_just_got_cut_no.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/eddie_johnson_just_got_cut_no.html Tue, 29 Aug 2006 17:58:00 -0500 Because the people have spoken. Because you demanded it. Because he appears to be one of the most popular ex-Skins of all time (or someone who has a lot of his friends posting comments on this blog), I've got the latest Nick Novak news. He's getting a hair cut, as we speak, right now in Arizona. Yep, that's right. Got it confirmed straight from the horse's mouth. Just got off the phone with him ... and he's getting a buzz while seeing if anyone claimed him off waivers. Teams can not contact him during this period, and he'll know later if anyone claimed him. I'll give him a call back tonight and post whatever update I get. I figure we should do a weekly Novak watch all season, no matter where he ends up. Even if he's still waiting around to get signed and just, well, getting a haircut or http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/nick_novak_247.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/nick_novak_247.html Tue, 29 Aug 2006 15:09:00 -0500 Let the punter games begin! The Redskins have brought in a few punter/kickoff guys to compete with incumbent Derrick Frost, and today's 2 pm practice will get it started. League sources have told me one of the punters is Eddie Johnson, a former sixth-round pick by the Vikings (1993) who has overcome a series of hip flexor problems. Johnson was waived by Jacksonville a year ago and used 2005 top rebuild his leg strength and fully overcome his hip issues. Johnson handled kickoffs for the Vikings in his rookie season and displayed strong hang time. He has not kicked off into the end zone as consistently in the NFL as in college. Johnson, 25, worked out for the team this morning, fared well, and was signed. The Redskins are expected to have at least one other punter in camp for today's practice as well, and Thursday's preseason finale with http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/punters_galore.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/punters_galore.html Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:49:00 -0500 If you asked me to play mad scientist and pick one player to pluck out of Gregg Williams's defense as an evil ploy against all of Redskin Nation, I'm taking Cornelius Griffin every single time. The defense does not have the same bite without him there - regular season, pre season, spring practice, mini camp, whatever - the pass rush falls and suddenly opponents are able to slam the ball between the hash marks with abandon. Griffin is a quiet warrior, who draws double teams and opens up terrain for the defensive ends. When the ends start getting into the backfield, suddenly life is easier for the linebackers to make plays, and, with Griff a stud run-stopper, too, you can see what makes everything tick around here. When he went down with that knee injury a few weeks ago, you should have seen how fast Williams was sprinting out http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/dr_evil.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/dr_evil.html Tue, 29 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0500 Nick's on the market, baby. Released by Arizona a little while ago. Spoke to him on his cell a fwe minutes ago. Would love to come back here, but no word from the Skins yet. Stay tuned. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/free_nick_novak.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/free_nick_novak.html Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:00:00 -0500 Alright, just got back from practice and it's Hall and Frostie out there, and no one else. No new bodies in camp. Here's what I got on other guys. Novak is kicking well in Arizona's camp, but would they really keep Rackers and Novak? We'll see. Been making calls on Gramatica and Edinger for a while now,. and last I heard neither had gotten a call from the Skins. Andy Groom got a look last year, and if the Rams cut him, I could see Danny Smith giving him a call. Gibbs has been offering his least ardent defenses of Frost yet in the last few days, and I know they have been in contact with some agents for kicker/punters. This year is different because the big cuts don't come until after the final exhibition game, which means a lot of guys who will be on the street in a http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/punter_we_dont_need_no_stinkin.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/punter_we_dont_need_no_stinkin.html Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:12:00 -0500 Don Breaux is impossible not to like. He has a great temperament, a wonderful way of speaking with a Louisiana twang, and a caring, grandfatherly nature. He's as close a Gibbs confidant as there is, and his words carry a great weight with the man running the show, but Coach Breaux goes generally overlooked around here, which is perfectly fine with him. And I like it, too, because he's always accessible while media brethren scamper elsewhere. There's nary a story on Gibbs or the offense I write without running some stuff by him, but I'm not sure I've ever seen any of the legion of television cameras out here ever turn his way. This week that might change when Don returns from the hospital following a hernia operation. I look forward to catching up with him and hope he's feeling as well as could be expected under the circumstances. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/get_well_soon_don.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/get_well_soon_don.html Mon, 28 Aug 2006 12:00:00 -0500 Observations from another Redskins preseason flop: 1 - Joe Gibbs - The Freshmaker. Gotta give it to Joe. He always keeps ya guessing. A week after bringing a temper into his post-game press conference, Gibbs was tranquil as can be following the 41-0 debacle at New England Saturday night. I thought he might take a more docile approach like this - loving up the boys after beating them up; remaining calm when some would voice their obvious concerns - but he was downright chipper. Didn't quite bank on that. Joe walked in nearly smiling, and immediately launched into platitudes about the Patriots. "The first thing for us to do is give a big thumbs up to New England," Gibbs said right off the bat, at which point he literally lifted a thumb and held it for a moment, like the money shot at the end of one of those legendary http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/monday_morning_hback_1.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/trainingcampinsider/2006/08/monday_morning_hback_1.html Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:30:00 -0500