August 4th Camp Observations…

These fields are muddy thanks to all the rain we’ve had these last few weeks, but the sky was a perfect blue. Even with all the brown at their feet, thousands came out for fan appreciation day, not that bad weather would keep away the Redskins’ most loyal.

Today’s practice was in the defense’s favor early on. Smith wasn’t his sharpest, letting more than a few balls get away from him. But what really stood out was the stoutness of the defensive line. During 11 on 11s in goal line drills I only noticed one running back, Samaje Perine, ever make it into the end zone. Every other back was stuffed just short. Josh Norman was able to get a pick on the day, as did Fish Smithson I believe (I wasn’t 100% sure, I had a bad angle). The thing that stuck out to me the most was the Skins heavy use of a fullback and running out of 2 back sets in these practices, which is something to which we’re unaccustomed under Gruden.

Later in the day the offense started to get in sync. Alex Smith started connecting with Vernon Davis in some hurry up situations and was able to find Crowder and Richardson in the end zone on two drives.

The things that stood out to me:
– Smith was moving around getting out of the pocket a lot. But it’s hard to say for sure if he would have escaped every time since the defense can’t touch him.
– Simmie Cobbs Jr. looked unstoppabble in one on one drills. He beat every corner he faced.
– Rob Kelley looks faster than he has ever been. Today I thought he did better than any of the other backs.

I was able to snag a few minutes with Quinton Dunbar, Greg Stroman and Maurice Harris one on one.