“Nose tackle Barry Cofield has practiced without limitation, and three days into training camp said that he feels great following his real football action since last season.”
Any good news about the defense is welcomed news. Cofield worked his way up to 300 pounds. I believe that is still considered light for a nose tackle. It may not have mattered. Defensive end play last year did not exploit the blocks that Cofield absorbed. That’s why Jason Hatcher is here.
Meanwhile, Maurice Hurt has passed his conditioning drill and returned to practice. RB Evan Royster has not.
CSN Washington’s Rich Tandler says Coach Gruden hates “Buddy Ball.” He explains, “Training camps under Mike Shanahan were not exactly Camp Cupcake but there weren’t many comments or complaints that camp was too physical either. If Gruden’s comments on Saturday are any indication, the contact will pick up for the Redskins compared to the last four years. ‘I just like the competition,’ he said. ‘I think it’s very important for the defense to give the offense the best look possible and vice versa. We can’t do that if we are just muddling around playing buddy football.’”
THIS! Bruce Allen said the team would look for a coach who would take the most advantage of the new practice rules in the new CBA to prepare the team for the season. Allen implied that Mike Shanahan did not do that, which was apparent as the season unfolded. Shanahan wanted to keep his veteran players fresh and save the football for games. The team may have gone soft.
If you win titles in practices, you can lose them there, too. Gruden’s management of preseason is worth your attention.
Cofield gives Gruden an A+. NFL Media’s Jeff Darlington is embedded at ‘Skins camp and noted Sunday that early practices have showcased a “physicality” unlike anything employed by former coach Mike Shanahan. Washington’s players are backing that claim up.
Ditto.
The Redskins waived 2013 fifth-round draft pick Brandon Jenkins. Jenkins went through the motions during position drills in on Sunday, which led to his release hours later.
That’s an old, very effective management trick. If you want to motivate your people, fire somebody. See, life in the NFL isn’t so different from your mundane work life after all. Gruden was careful to do this with a young late-round prospect with more potential and substance. It adds to the growing body of evidence that Gruden is not as nice as he seems.
Jay Gruden confirmed that the #Redskins signed OLB Everette Brown. Will work as an edge rusher. #RedskinsTalk
— Rich Tandler (@TandlerNBCS) July 28, 2014
Robert Griffin III and WR Andre Roberts are finding chemistry together.
Good to know, but isn’t that what they are supposed to be doing?
Peter King thinks GM Bruce Allen hired the “right Gruden” for the job. Jay Gruden is young and hungry while brother Jon is fat and happy, or something along those lines.
King also told ESPN 980’s Chris Russell that he had no basis whatsoever for his belief that the Redskins would change the team name Redskins to something that is not Redskins. “It’s just a gut feeling. I don’t have a little birdy on Park Avenue in New York whispering in my ear ‘hey we’re going to get that name out of there,’ It’s just a sense I have.”
Like everyone else with no emotional tie to the team, King opines what he would do in Mr. Snyder’s place. Snyder grew up with the team and the name as it has been used for 82 years. The word “redskin” is in dictionaries. “The Redskins®” is a brand that means football and only football.
Snyder is the most disliked owner in the NFL. Heck, he is the most disliked owner in DC even though he owns the most popular franchise in town. If you think it’s bad for Snyder now, watch how his will rep tanks if he changes the name. Russell gets it right in the last sentence of the article, “I don’t think the Redskins are budging and I don’t believe the other side of the aisle is backing down.” It has become part of being a Redskins fan. We develop an “ignore” button and we use it a lot.
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