RICHMOND—It was Fan Appreciation Day here and 7,130 fans turned out. They watched a practice that has some entertaining moments; here are my observations:
—OT Trent Williams was held out of practice with a knee injury. It was nothing serious; according to Jay Gruden he probably could have practiced but he was held out as a precaution. Willie Smith and rookie Takoby Cofield took snaps at left tackle in his place.
—Rookie Austin Reiter was lined up at center during a run blocking drill and was calling audibles at the line. That is a lot of pressure for a young player and it’s an underrated part of learning the position.
—Wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard pulled WR Rashad Ross aside for some individual instruction. It’s usually a good sign when your position coach is taking the time to give you pointers; he usually doesn’t do that to guys who don’t have a shot.
—OLB Junior Galette made his first appearance in pads for the Redskins and he participated in 11 on 11 drills. He didn’t do anything spectacular in very limited action. After practice, he said that he hopes to play in the Redskins’ third preseason game in Baltimore on Saturday, August 29.
—In a move that I have never seen, the players took off their pads about halfway through practice. Some switched to shells (lighter pads), others went with no pads.
—They went to seven on seven work and Robert Griffin III put on a nice show. First he dropped back and launched a bomb to Ross. The pass seemed almost effortless and it was right on the money to the receiver. Then he did the same thing again, throwing to WR Tony Jones. Then he went down the left sideline to Pierre Garçon. Although there was no pass pressure, the passes were delivered on time and in rhythm. A good showing by Griffin.
—The pass to Jones did not end well for the offense, however. CB DeAngelo Hall was beaten on the play but he recovered to knock the ball out of Jones’ hands after the catch. Hall came up with the ball for the turnover.
—Colt McCoy had a tough day, getting picked off twice. During seven on seven work CB Everett Deshazor made a nice grab of one of McCoy’s throws to the flat. Later in full team drills he tried to fit one in across the middle but CB Tajh Hasson make the interception. After Kirk Cousins had a good preseason game on Thursday, the pressure is on McCoy if he wants to stay in competition for the second QB job.
—With the Redskins having lost both Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen for the season, they are looking for anyone who can play tight end. They had tackle Tom Compton lined up there for a few plays. He played tight end in a few games last year and can provide an extra blocker when needed.
—In some red zone work, Griffin passed through a tight window to complete one to WR Evan Spencer and then he ran it into the end zone on a quarterback draw.
—Kai Forbath’s training camp got off to a rough start when it came to making field goals but he recovered last week, going eight for eight in practice and then kicking two field goals, including a 52 yarder, in Cleveland. But he regressed today, missing three of four tries. He was good from 33 yards, but then missed from 35, 40, and 43.
