http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AoS7YRLKSk4Q4adYIGCht4ub2bYF?slug=teamreports-2008-nfl-was&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_reportInside SlantMaking the NFL can be a serious uphill battle for a rookie free agent, trailing established veterans and draft picks in the roster pecking order. Trying to make a team that reached the playoffs in two of the past three seasons can seem even less likely for an unproven talent.
But if guard Andrew Crummey and tight end Jason Goode need any inspiration to prove that they can follow the hard road to a paycheck from the Redskins, all they have to do is look around the locker room.
There sit offensive tackle Stephon Heyer, his former University of Maryland teammate, who was in the same position just last year. Not only did Heyer make the Redskins, he wound up starting the entire preseason in place of injured left tackle Chris Samuels and then started five regular-season games and the playoff loss on the right side when veteran Todd Wade faltered in place of the injured Jon Jansen.
“When you know you’re not the only one who’s been (down) the road, it gives you a little motivation,” Goode said.
“If you show you have the ability to play, they’re going to put you out there if they need you,” Heyer said. “I’ve let Andrew know the differences between what we did at Maryland and what we do here, what they’re looking for. He’s got pretty good leverage for a guy that doesn’t weigh that much and he can move sideline to sideline pretty good.”
Crummey missed most of his senior year after breaking a leg, not once, but twice. The second occurrence prevented him from participating in the scouting combine and other pre-draft workouts. The Redskins signed him in May but held him out of team drills during organized team activities in June.
“If I could take the same route as Stephon, it would be nice,” said the 6-foot-5, 301-pound Crummey, like Heyer bypassed in the draft because of questions about his health.
The 6-3, 238-pound Goode was skipped over in the draft after sitting behind 2006 first-round pick Vernon Davis for three years and then splitting time as a senior. He was signed by the Redskins after playing well in the May 2-4 minicamp as tryout candidate.
The Redskins’ starting line is set and with Heyer and veterans Jason Fabini and Wade plus third-rounder Chad Rinehart in reserve, Crummey will be in a battle for perhaps one job. Goode faces even steeper odds with Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley, veteran blocker Todd Yoder and Fred Davis all but sure to make the team.
Then again, several people probably bet against Crummey just getting this far.
Camp Calendar: The Redskins open training camp on July 20, the day after the players report. Practices close to the public on Aug. 7.
MB: I am going to keeep an eye on the progress of Andrew Crummey, I think that besides last season when he was injured, he had pretty stellar colleger career. IMO, this kind of youtful depth is what we sorely need on our offensive line.
As for Jason Goode, I think that it was good that he came to visit but I do not expect him to stay longNotes, Quotes
• If newly-acquired end Erasmus James can prove his twice-repaired left knee is healthy, he could contribute in a big way to Washington’s defensive line this season.
“His senior year, Erasmus was as good a player as I’ve been around in all my years of coaching,” said new line coach John Palermo, James’ position coach at Wisconsin. “I’m looking forward to Erasmus getting healthy and coaching that same guy.”
But getting healthy hasn’t been easy for James, who missed his entire junior year with a dislocated hip that threatened to end his career and who has played in just six games since he tore his left ACL and MCL in Week 2 of 2006. A cadaver graft replaced those ligaments, but when James tore the same ACL again in Week 13 of 2007, his first start since the first injury, his own patella tendon did the trick.
When the Vikings traded for NFL sacks leader Jared Allen in April, James, whom Minnesota had chosen 18th overall in the 2005 draft, became an afterthought. He was traded to Washington on May 30 for a conditional seventh-round pick.
“I had a decent first year,” said the 25-year-old James who had four sacks as a rookie. “I haven’t really been able to get in a rhythm at all (since).”
MB: I'm still optimistic about Erasmus, I think that he has what it takes to be a excellent DE in the pros. I hope that we do not let him go and it comes back to haunt us in the future.• Coach Jim Zorn expects safety Vernon Fox, linebacker Rocky McIntosh and receiver Antwaan Randle El, who’ve all had knee surgery, tackle Chris Samuels (elbow surgery), guard Randy Thomas (torn triceps) and rookie quarterback Colt Brennan (hip surgery) to be ready for the start of training camp on July 20.
“The first part of training camp is very difficult so we need to really make sure we get those guys pushing through and get them coming out the back end healthy,” Zorn said.
• Zorn doesn’t expect to have James, cornerback Carlos Rogers and rookie safety Kareem Moore, who are all recovering from knee surgery, or tight end Tyler Ecker, who had groin surgery on June 11, on the field for the start of camp.
MB: Great news here, looks like some of our top guns are doing what it takes to get healthyQuote To Note: “It’s important to us, but it’s really important to them to not lose a day. Guys that sit out and dicker over dollars have a very difficult time participating that first year in the regular season.”—Coach Jim Zorn on getting all 10 draft picks signed by the start of training camp.
Strategy And Personnel
The Redskins signed second-round wide receiver Malcolm Kelly and sixth-round punter Durant Brooks on July 11, a day after agreeing to terms with third-round offensive lineman Chad Rinehart. They signed sixth-round safety Kareem Moore on June 20 and cut cornerback John Eubanks, who spent most of the last two seasons on the practice squad.
The Redskins signed seventh-round defensive end Rob Jackson on June 24 and cut defensive lineman J.T. Mapu.
Pro Bowl left tackle Chris Samuels had elbow surgery in mid-June.
UNIT-BY-UNIT ANALYSIS
Quarterbacks: Starter—Jason Campbell. Backups—Todd Collins, Colt Brennan, Derek Devine.
The strong-armed Campbell has shown flashes of greatness in his 20 starts but has yet to develop consistency. Not naturally vocal, Campbell is still also developing as a leader. Still, Campbell is well ahead of where Matt Hasselbeck was when Zorn began working with Seattle’s star quarterback in 2001. After hardly playing for a decade, Collins stepped in when Campbell dislocated a knee and was the NFC Offensive Player of The Month in December in leading Washington to a 4-0 record. Sixth-rounder Brennan, who put up huge numbers at Hawaii, could beat out Devine, in Seattle’s 2007 camp, for the No. 3 job if he’s fully recovered from hip surgery.
Running Backs: Starters—RB Clinton Portis, FB Mike Sellers. Backups—Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright, Marcus Mason, Nehemiah Broughton, Eric Shelton.
The shifty Portis, a three-time 1,500-yard runner, rebounded from an injury-shortened 2006 and from missing the 2007 preseason with a sprained knee to finish third in the NFC in rushing and catch a career-high 47 passes. However, Portis, who’ll be 27 in September, also slipped to a career-low 3.9 yards per carry with all that work. So Zorn would be smart to give Betts, a revelation after Portis was hurt midway though 2006 but an afterthought in 2007, more work in 2008. Sellers is athletic despite his 278 pounds and can be effective in short yardage. The vertically challenged Cartwright is a special team demon. Everyone else can only hope to make the practice squad.
Tight Ends: Starter—Chris Cooley. Backups—Todd Yoder, Fred Davis, Tyler Ecker, Jason Goode, Pete Schmitt.
Cooley, who turned 26 this month, led the Redskins with 66 catches, eight for touchdowns while being chosen for his first Pro Bowl last season. Davis was the nation’s top tight end as a senior at Southern California but the West Coast offense isn’t usually tight end-centric, so it’s hard to understand why the Redskins used a second-round pick on him instead of on a defensive lineman or a linebacker. Yoder is a reliable blocking tight end. Ecker, a seventh-rounder in 2007, is always hurt so he could be cut leaving a practice squad job for Goode or Schmitt.
Wide Receivers: Starters—Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El. Backups—James Thrash, Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, Anthony Mix, Billy McMullen, Maurice Mann, Burl Toler, Horace Gant.
The speedy Moss, a Pro Bowl pick during his record-setting Redskins debut in 2005, has been nagged by muscle pulls since. The jitterbug-like Randle El set career highs in catches and yards last season but only scored one touchdown and had a knee scoped in June. Since Moss and Randle El are both just 5-foot-10, the 6-2 Thomas, who had a monster 2007 season at Michigan State, and fellow second-rounder Kelly (6-4) or even holdover Mix (6-5) or McMullen (6-4) can be the big receivers that the Redskins have lacked for years in the red zone. Veteran Thrash remains in the mix because of his reliable hands, good routes and fine special teams play.
Offensive Line: Starters—LT Chris Samuels, LG Pete Kendall, C Casey Rabach, RG Randy Thomas, RT Jon Jansen. Backups—T Stephon Heyer, G Jason Fabini, T Todd Wade, G Chad Rinehart, C Justin Geisinger, G Andrew Crummey, OL Kerry Brown, OL Devin Clark, OL Tavares Washington.
Samuels missed the 2006 preseason with a sprained knee but rebounded to make his fifth Pro Bowl in eight years. He had elbow surgery in June but is expected to be fine for camp. Kendall filled the left guard void after being acquired from the Jets last August but will be 35 in September and has bad knees. Rabach remains the line’s glue. Thomas, coming off a torn triceps, and Jansen, coming off a broken leg, hardly played in 2007 but are on course to return to the lineup this summer. Veterans Fabini and Wade, who started most of 2007 in place of Thomas and Jansen, respectively, 2007 rookie free agent surprise Heyer and third-rounder Rinehart provide depth. Jansen could play center in a pinch.
Defensive Line: Starters—LE Phillip Daniels, LT Cornelius Griffin, RT Anthony Montgomery, RE Andre Carter. Backups—DT Kedric Golston, DE Demetric Evans, DE Erasmus James, DT Lorenzo Alexander, DE Chris Wilson, DT Ryan Boschetti, DT Matthias Askew, DE Alex Buzbee, DE Rob Jackson, DE Kevin Huntley, DE Dorian Smith.
The quick-footed Carter isn’t strong against the run but his 10.5 sacks were the most by a Redskins lineman since 2000. The massive Montgomery wrested the right tackle job from fellow 2006 draft pick Golston but was merely functional in 2007. Griffin played every game for the first time in seven years but wasn’t the force he was during his Redskins debut in 2004. Neither is Daniels, who turned 35 in March but won’t face a fight for his job unless James, the 18th pick in the 2005 draft by Minnesota, can bounce back from major knee surgeries in each of the past two years. Evans is a reliable reserve. The swift Wilson had four sacks in limited duty in his NFL debut last year. Seventh-rounder Jackson will battle to win a job.
Linebackers: Starters—SLB Marcus Washington, MLB London Fletcher, WLB Rocky McIntosh. Backups—Khary Campbell, H.B. Blades, Matt Sinclair, Danny Verdun-Wheeler, Curtis Gatewood, Rian Wallace.
The athletic Washington was the Redskins’ best defensive player until his body began to betray him in December 2006. Injuries plagued him again throughout 2007 but he was healthy this offseason. His return to form would be a boon for new coordinator Greg Blache. Fletcher is just 5-10 and has turned 33, but he was an instant leader on and off the field in his first season in Washington. If McIntosh shows no ill effects from the knee injury that ended his season in December, the Redskins will be fine here despite the lack of proven backups other than special-teamer Campbell. They should have drafted a linebacker or signed a reliable reserve in early free agency.
Defensive Backs: Starters—LCB Shawn Springs, RCB Fred Smoot, SS Reed Doughty, FS LaRon Landry. Backups—CB Carlos Rogers, FS Stuart Schweigert, CB Leigh Torrence, S Vernon Fox, CB J.T Tyron, S Kareem Moore, S Chris Horton, CB Byron Westbrook, CB Cedrick Holt, CB Matteral Richardson.
The Redskins lost Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor to a knee injury in November and then to a tragic shooting death two weeks later. Veteran Smoot will fill in until the inconsistent Rogers returns from major knee surgery, perhaps in October. Springs rebounded from an injury-riddled 2006 to prove he was still an elite corner at 32. The fast and hard-hitting Landry, the sixth choice in the 2007 draft, had a fine rookie year and will carry a bigger load in Taylor’s absence. The overachieving Doughty, a sixth-rounder in 2006, was solid in December, but he’ll have to fight off former Oakland starter Schweigert to remain in the lineup since Landry can play both safety spots. Undersized fourth-rounder Tyron has the confidence to push Torrence for the third corner job until Rogers returns. Rookies Moore and Horton will try to push special-teamer Fox off the roster.
Special Teams: Starters—K Shaun Suisham, P Derrick Frost, LS Ethan Albright, KR Rock Cartwright, PR Antwaan Randle El, P Durant Brooks, KR Ladell Betts, PR Santana Moss.
In his first full NFL season, Suisham gave the Redskins their most accurate kicking since Gibbs’ first tenure ended in 1992 and won’t be challenged this summer. That’s not the case for Frost, who followed a career year in 2006 with a hot start before tailing off dramatically. The Redskins drafted a punter, fifth-rounder Brooks, for the first time in 15 years and the rookie’s big leg could win him the job. Albright went to his first Pro Bowl at 36. The coverage teams, led by Khary Campbell and Cartwright, remained top-notch. After setting team records in 2006, Cartwright upped his average 1.7 yards in 2007. Randle El has been a bust on punt returns after excelling in that area with Pittsburgh.
MB: ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBAAAAALLL!!!
