For teams across the NFL, injuries, poor performances, outstanding performances, and even player conditioning begin dictating a team’s actions throughout the preseason and, therefore, the regular season.
Peyton Manning has knee surgery, and his absence reverberates through the Colts' training camp. His leadership in practice is missed, but how will it affect the team?
For the Baltimore Ravens, injuries to their starting offensive tackles have meant an extreme shuffle along the offensive line.
Signing a free agent, who was pouring concrete just two weeks ago, and immediately inserting him as the team's starting left tackle speaks to the effects injuries and an overly-small 80-man roster limit will have a team's ability to sign and keep worthwhile players on the roster.
No offense to Chad Slaughter, but there was a reason he’s been out of football for a year.
For the Redskins, it’s no different, and it was no surprise that the Redskins made adjustments to their roster following last week’s Hall of Fame Game, the Redskins' preseason opener.
A lackluster performance from free-agent signee Stuart Schweigert cost him an opportunity to even make the team, as he was cut on Monday. Injuries to both backup offensive tackles, second-year player Stephon Heyer and veteran Todd Wade, opened up additional playing time for young linemen to get noticed and, hopefully, earn a roster spot.
Last week, we took a close look at the Redskins' roster battles taking place, and what players we should watch. This week, the Redskins play their first home game of the 2008 season against the Buffalo Bills. Has anything changes from last week? It sure has.
For one thing, we know just a little bit more about several of the Redskins' draft picks. Each one who was able to play, receivers Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly couldn’t play due to injuries, put together solid performances, quarterback Colt Brennan and safety Chris Horton in particular. Horton, in fact likely played just as large a role in Schweigert’s release as he did in the game.
Horton made sure everyone knew who he was on the game’s opening kickoff by recovering an onside-kick attempt by the Colts and made sure no one had the chance to forget his name by making plays and being around the ball the entire game.
Brennan accomplished much the same thing, throwing two late touchdowns to give the 'Skins a come-from-behind win and bringing some electricity to the offense.
So whom should we watch this week?
To me, the most notable spots to watch will the offensive line. With the injuries to Heyer and Wade, the youngsters vying to backup roles will see plenty of playing time.
Rookie Chad Rinehart has already showed his versatility and has been singled out for praise by coaches. He will look to continue proving himself. Rinehart is listed as a backup guard but will see action at tackle as well.
7 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jack Anderson 11 months ago
Craig have you heard anything about what defensive scheme Blache will more often feature, man to man or zone? I haven't found much on it yet except for fan's opinons.
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Craig Garrison Sr 11 months ago
All we really have to go on was his time as coordinator in Chicago. Lots of turnovers, forcing the offense to MAKE things happen. He was very aggressive at the line of scrimmage. Not necessarily blitzing a lot, but very attacking. He has also made statements of the sort that would suggest he believes in more press coverage, saying that he considers the corner back position one of the most important positions of the defense. I really don't think what we are seeing in the preseason will be a proper reflection of what he will employ during the regular season. Keep in mind that Landry also hasn't played, so we don't know how he would like to use the free safety position at all. He has been working with rookies and Doughty, who is SIMPLY NOT A FREE SAFETY. So that will also make a difference.
It obviously will also depend greatly on what they are able to get from the defensive line. If they can, in fact, generate pressure on third downs from the line alone, which I expect they will, then we will likely see a lot more press than zone.
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Tanner Kluth 11 months ago
Blache has already expressed that Landry will start at free safety.
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Craig Garrison Sr 11 months ago
Yeah, but my statement "we don't know how he would like to use the free safety position at all" was in regards to the fact that "free safety" doesn't necessarily mean he will always play the deep middle, or a deep third or half. Landry's actual position on the field may be very different from where Williams had him setup(and Sean Taylor before him). Williams was lining them up sometimes as far as 25 yards from the line of scrimmage to prevent the big play at all costs. Will Blache play it the same way? We don't know. Blache may want to use Landry to double team the player on the opposing team that he considers the biggest threat, or he may always want Landry playing very deep and hope to use his speed to make plays on any attempts to do deep.
We just don't know yet, even during the best year Blache had in Chicago, he didn't have the kind of talent at that position that he has now.
It's going to be very interesting to see how he does things.
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Jack Anderson 11 months ago
Thanks Craig, great insight. I think it would be best to keep Landry playing the same way he was last year. Deep off the ball making him use his speed to get into plays. He's gonna be smarter, stronger, and faster so he should be able to excel playing way off the ball.
Btw I hope Blache uses that press coverage our corners aren't the greatest, but they will be able to get the job done with some help from the D-line and Landry.
Man to man worked last year so let's use it again.
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Jennifer Johnson 11 months ago
Good job Craig. I like how you analyze the body and not just the arm of the game so to speak. And u beat me to it. Still have plenty to blog about though.
A few notes on what i'd like to see happen: I'd like for Portis to be in game shape, but he really doesn't need to play more than a series. Running back is the deepest position on the team. Too bad Marcus Mason is not a DB. I absolutely love his heart. You can see he works hard, and wants to be a Redskin. The more reps he gets, the better his status gets, and the harder it will be for the team to ignore his talent.
I like that Zorn is willing to give everyone a chance. He doesn't have favorites. Each player is expected to do his job. Schweigert's quick release was an example of that motto. I am all for discipline. If u aren't getting it done your history. With the tough schedule they have to start the season, they can't afford lackluster results. Got to find the chemistry, poise and go-to-guys now.
There should always be a sense of urgency. Cautious optism is a philosophy I live by.
U've expressed concern for the linebacker position, but the emergence of 2nd-year player Matt Sinclair has eased the need for Rocky McIntosh to speed up his recovery from major knee surgery. Khary Campbell has some experience under his belt, and could push to start the season if the Mac attack can't go.
The Bills and Skins have their own rivalry going, so it remains an amped up contest bc of the history between them.
I am looking forward to Jason Taylor's debut immensely. The emotions will be running high, and the fans would love for him to nail Trent Edwards to the ground. It would be swell for us to start on defense. Blache wasn't pleased that our "backups were a little bit better than theirs" last week, and wants the tackling to be crisper.
Smoot is a tremendous concern for me. He routeinely misses tackles. Like he fakes himself out. The player is in front of him, and one move later he's passed him. The difference between a 2-yard gain and 7 is obvious. Still, he is a starter in this league, but I sure would love for him to elevate his play.
Final Score Skins 23 Bills 10.
"No Favre, No Problems"
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Craig Garrison Sr 11 months ago
I agree with your points on Sinclair, but he has little experinnce and we haven't seen how he handles significant game action, and Campbell has played for the most part, when called upon, but I am still concerned about the depth there.
I am just as concerned about Smoot as you, but for different reasons. He simply can't hold up for an entire season as a starter. He's not built for it. If Rogers isn't as good as he is capable of being, Torrence will end up seeing a lot of playing time, and the rookies Tryon and Richardson(I have my doubts about Westbrook, he just doesn't seem to be a proper fit at corner). Our safeties will need to be pro bowl caliber across the board and for the entire year, and we will need Taylor(and hopefully Erasmus James as well) to give us the pass rush without fail.
I too VERY MUCH LIKE what I am seeing from Zorn. He simply seems to have an air about him that the players have certainly picked up. He is a born leader, commander, and seems to be very in touch with his players and the game in general.
It's an exciting time to be a Skins fan, that doesn't mean we win 14 games this year, but I do think it means we have a solid future with him at the helm.
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