A rainy Friday here in Richmond. Before the day is over we’ll have one final injury update on Clinton Portis and the secondary before I head off to cover prep Friday - Patrick Henry at Deep Run tonight. I’ll spare you a full scouting report on that one, but I’m expecting a great game, and the Deep Run fans are always rowdy.
Last night Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins’ Executive Vice President of Football Operations, confirmed that Shaun Alexander is signed for the league minimum salary. He’s on a week-to-week basis, so he’s essentially on a big tryout until Ladell Betts gets healthy.
Meanwhile the Browns are bringing their shenanigans into FedEx Field on Sunday. Let’s look at both sides of the ball:
Offense: Derek Anderson is the team’s quarterback, but he will occasionally move over to the receiver slot for what is known as the Wildcat formation. The Miami Dolphins have had success with it this season, and Anderson is a big guy, so he doesn’t risk being beat up by cornerbacks when he’s in the slot. Defensive coordinator Greg Blache was asked how much time he spent on it this week.
“Not a lot,“ he said. “We worked on a bunch of crazy things from the beginning of training camp - no backs, crazy formation linemen - we call that the zip series. We have rules.“
Defense: The Browns will occasionally do a UFO defense, where it looks like the defenders are all out of place, but they are standing in movement and waiting for the snap to show you their look. Again, don’t expect to see this more than a couple times during the game. Coach Jim Zorn, as the play caller, is responsible for busting up that look.
“You can’t get a real feel for who is going where,“ he said. “But what happens is as you set up, they seem to come to you. We call it circus. It looks like a little circus. They’re milling around then at the snap of the ball its a choreographed plan.“
Zorn said that it’s a good change of pace defense - but if it gets run regularly it could get beaten for big gains. He told reporters yesterday (and take this with a grain of salt) that Jason Campbell will not audible when he sees the defense.
“We’re going to run the play,“ Zorn said. “And if we have a great play we can gash them, but if they have a better defense they’ll stop us.“
Andy Thompson
October 17, 2008 10:04 AM
John Packett
October 16, 2008 5:28 PM
Full slate of league games on tap this weekend
Vic Dorr
October 16, 2008 4:54 PM
Taking a look at the state’s women’s basketball programs as formal preseason practice gets underway
Michael Phillips
October 16, 2008 4:32 PM
The biggest injury item from Thursday’s practice has already found its way to the front of inRich.com - Clinton Portis likely will not practice this week until Saturday.
It’s not a huge deal. Portis is a pro, and unlike, say, a quarterback, he’s generally familiar with what he’ll be asked to do, and it doesn’t change on a weekly basis. It will also be interesting to see if this means an expanded role for Shaun Alexander, who is both backing up Portis and making the case that he should be starting for an NFL team in the 2009 season.
Other injuries are rearing their head, too. Especially in the defensive secondary. Shawn Springs tweaked his calf muscle towards the end of practice, bad news for a team that was counting on him to be an emergency safety if necessary this weekend because of an already-thin unit. This might mean that recent acquisition Mike Green, who was supposed to only play special teams this weekend, could be rushed into starting duty.
“I spoke with him on Tuesday, I told him he’d be inactive this week. But aswe get later in the week, he may have to be ready to play,“ defensive coordinator Greg Blache said. “We’ll try to give him a crash course in the basic stuff, but again, he is experienced in our program. He understands our sytem.“
Green knows the system because he played under Blache in Seattle.
The Official Injury Report also indicated that T Chris Samuels, S Chris Horton, CB Carlos Rogers and LB Jason Taylor did not practice, and LB Khary Campbell and CB Fred Smoot were limited. Good news is that G Pete Kendall had full participation.
On the other sideline, Browns TE Kellen Winslow remains questionable for Sunday and did not practice today.
John Packett
October 16, 2008 4:17 PM
Cooler temperatures on tap for games
Darryl Slater
October 16, 2008 4:14 PM
What to look for in this space, and in the print edition, in the coming days
Michael Phillips
October 16, 2008 1:13 PM
After two hectic days of news, things seem to have calmed a bit today. So we’ll catch up on something from earlier in the week…Pro Bowl balloting!
(As an aside, Clinton Portis joked yesterday that when he was at the Pro Bowl with Shaun Alexander a few years ago, Alexander “big timed” the young running back. Just your typical veteran-rookie stuff, which you have to imagine is a lot easier to take when you’re spending a February week in Hawaii.)
The Redskins have a series of videos introducing the “Redskins Ticket“, compete with a voting link.
It’s not unreasonable to think the Burgandy and Gold will be well-represented this year. As of right now, Portis is a shoo-in, and Jason Campbell and Chris Cooley are both having stellar seasons. Santana Moss has a shot, and defensively London Fletcher is anchoring a solid defense. It’ll be something to keep an eye on this season.
Today’s feature story in the Times-Dispatch was about Campbell, who has progressed leaps and bounds under first-year coach Jim Zorn.
Zorn will address the media after the team’s afternoon practice with some injury information and, with any luck, a story to rival yesterday’s.
Michael Phillips
October 16, 2008 11:00 AM
Since the Browns are an AFC team, this week’s game will be broadcast on CBS (4:15 p.m., broadcast channel 8 in Richmond). Ian Eagle will broadcast the game, and he e-mailed us a couple thoughts he had from watching the teams on tape….
“Until last week, no team in the NFL had shown as much improvement from the opening game than Washington, but they stubbed their toe against St Louis,“ he wrote. “This week will go a long way in finding out who the 2008 Redskins really are.“
Eagle added that coach Jim Zorn has let running back Clinton Portis run free in this offense, which benefits the back. Given that the Browns have a weak run defense, he knows what he’ll be looking for Sunday.
“I expect to see the dynamic Portis running left a lot,“ he said.
Portis was held out of practice yesterday with a hip flexor, but Zorn said in no uncertain terms that the NFL’s leading rusher would play against the Browns.
Vic Dorr
October 15, 2008 3:52 PM
Scanning the state’s Division III football programs
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