Random Musings from Training Camp, Part 2

August 28, 2018

by Steve Thomas

 

We’ve made it through all of training camp and three of four preseason games, so I thought it would be a good time to do another stream of consciousness-style preseason update.  The first part of this column was during week one (read it here), but quite a bit has changed since then, including three of four preseason games, so let’s dive in.

First and most importantly, this preseason seems to be going about like all of Jay Gruden’s other preseasons: a bit lax on discipline and a bit light on performance.  I had hoped against the tide of history that 2018 would be different and we would see a newfound willingness to get into shape, figuratively speaking, in a quicker and more effective manner.  Instead, what we’ve observed is the same fairly non-stressful environment that we see every year.  Whether there’s a link between that type of camp and the lackluster performances we’ve seen this preseason is anyone’s guess.  The Redskins had a good showing against the Tom Terrific-less Patriots, a decent showing against the Jets when they were led by a rookie quarterback, and a horrific game against the Broncos.  In other words, things have gotten worse each week.  I know I probably shouldn’t be, but call me skeptical.

As far as roster spots go, if a player is a healthy scratch in the final preseason game, it almost always means he’s a roster lock, so play close attention to who doesn’t play against the Ravens.

The running back position group has drastically changed as a result of the season-ending injury to Derrius Guice and the signing of Adrian Peterson.  Incredibly enough, we seem to have replaced Guice’s (supposed) ability to be a consistent starter-level back.  Peterson gave us hope thanks to his performance against Denver last week; in my view, the real question is whether he can produce like that for 16 games without sustaining an injury that will keep him about of games.  As far as the remainder of the roster, the next most capable performer seems to be Kapri Bibbs.  Rob Kelley has, strangely, continued his regression from his rookie year and has looked far from consistently effective, and Perine isn’t much better.  At this point, the running back group looks like, in order, Peterson, Thompson, Bibbs, and if they keep a fourth, Perine.

I’m always in favor of calling a spade a spade, and that applies here: Alex Smith was bad against Denver.  That having been said, he has a history of performance going back more than a decade, and he deserves the benefit of the doubt.  Everyone has an off day, and Smith had one this past Friday.  On a positive note, Kevin Hogan had his best game as a Redskin against the Broncos, so there’s hope yet in that regard.

The offensive line behind the starting five has been an abomination.  The Redskins are in serious trouble if the starters go down for an extended period of time.  It was good to finally see the entire group of starters and getting some playing time before things go live in two weeks.  The second string, though – yuck.  They looked awful against Denver, and that wasn’t the first time.  If injuries strike again this year, the depth at right tackle and guard, basically anyone whose name isn’t Ty Nsekhe, is going to be a serious problem.

I covered Cam Sims in depth last week (read it here).  He’s the darling of the fanbase right now, and as I wrote, I like his skillset and what he’s done during his short time in Washington.  Not to throw cold water on things, but here’s a fact: it’s not a good thing that he missed an entire week of practice and the Denver game.  Maybe the coaches have already seen enough of him, but there’s quite a bit of competition at receiver this year, and both Darvin Kidsey and Simmie Cobbs, Jr., got significant playing time against the Broncos.  Plus, there’s really only one guaranteed spot on the active roster up for grabs.  I think Sims needs to come back and play against the Ravens to secure his spot, but as I said above, if he’s a healthy scratch Thursday, we know what that means.  Given the competition, my guess is that Sims plays if he’s healthy.  The fact that Stacy McGee and Josh Holsey are injured may also mean that Sims couldn’t be put on the PUP list to start the season, because each team is only allowed two.

Jordan Reed: it’s a critical year for him.  As I mentioned on this week’s episode of The Hog Sty, the team shouldn’t continue to pay huge money to a player who’s never healthy.  If this is another season of Reed being on the field for half a season or less, I think they might move on from him next year regardless of his incredible talent.  He’s basically stealing money, and it needs to stop.  You read it here first, kids.

A portion of the fanbase is overvaluing this group of corners, primarily due the positive play of local favorite, Virginia Tech product Greg Stroman.  There’s no doubt that Stroman and fellow rookie Danny Johnson have acquitted themselves well thusfar, but the fact is that Washington has a significant amount of inexperience behind starters Josh Norman and Quinton Dunbar.  Starting slot corner Fabian Moreau has talent and is athletic, but he’s included amongst the list of the inexperienced.  The secondary was exposed somewhat against Denver.  Don’t be surprised if that happens again this year.

The same thing can be said of the defensive line, to a certain extent.  This group did look good against the Patriots and the Jets, but less so against Denver.  The team has put a tremendous amount of draft capital into this group, but it’s also inexperienced at the top.  Jonathan Allen obviously hasn’t even played half a season, and with Daron Payne being a rookie, two thirds of the starting line has played 7 games between them.  And it’s not like Matt Ioannidis is a grizzled vet, either.  The good news is that, unlike the corner group, there is good, experienced veteran depth behind the starters.  They were exposed by Denver to some degree, and those of you who having been predicting a top 10 or even top 5 result are perhaps overly optimistic, but my hunch based on what I’ve seen this preseason is that the improvement is real and at a minimum the Redskins will make solid improvement against the run.

The linebacker corps is perhaps the most solid group on the team.  We’d seen nothing of the four starters – Ryan Kerrigan, Mason Foster, Zach Brown, and Preston Smith – before Friday, and while it wasn’t a banner day, for sure, this is a solid group.  Martrell Spaight has quietly had a very good camp, as has Shaun Dion-Hamilton.  Smith is in the last year of his rookie contact and therefore has quite a bit to prove.  What this group is missing is speed off the edge.  The Redskins have strangely let their best speed asset, Junior Galette, go unsigned, which is bizarre considering how much they could use his skillset.

This is the time of the year where fans are traditionally at their most hopeful, and that’s a good thing.  At the same time, though, in all honesty, the Denver game was a big letdown for me.  I strongly doubt that any starters will play Thursday against the Ravens, so we’re left to hope that the tide of Jay Gruden history doesn’t follow and that this group actually is ready for the regular season.