November 18-- Patten to IR

WR David Patten was placed on IR today after undergoing microscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee.. The operation took place in a Boston area hospital.. The reoivery time for this procedure is 6 weeks thus the move to end his season.. Joe Gibbs believes he should be fine for next year.. Patten has had similar procedures to this area of his knee before and this procedure has the hope of clearing up the problemf or good.. The Redskins signed WR Rich Parson (rookie from Maryland) off the practice squad to take his place.. Parson says the coaches started taking a hard look at him after he had a couple of big retruns in the final pre-season game against the Ravens.. Parson came to Maryland as a running back, expected to be one of the replacements for LaMont Jordan, but Bruce Perry's big year made Parson switch to slot receiver and return man.. He says he had a job lined up to be a marriage counselor had the NFL not panned out.. Parson says he expects to handle some kick returns as well this weekend with RB Ladell Betts downgraded to doubtful with a sprained knee.. DT Cornelious Griffin remains questionable, did some work on the field today but Joe Gibbs says he is not ready to return to game action.. S Sean Taylor is ready to play according to Gibbs...
Leave Comment Permanent Link Cosmos
Thursday, November 17
November 17-- Dolla Bill and the Big G take center stage
by coveringtheredskins on November 17, 2005 08:17PM (EST)
Gregg Williams says he has used less blitzes and overall attacked less in the last month then anytime he can remember.. he says it is mainly based on how the teams are attacking his defense, but partially based on his personnel.. On the lack of a rush, Williams said that the loss of Cornelious Griffin is a big one and it has impacted the entire line.. He also admitted to me following the press conference that pass rush specialist will be a spot this team will attempt to address this coming offseason.. It was not meant as a slight to his current ends which the team likes, however it was an admission that the team is lacking an impact 3rd down player like a Simoen Rice or Jevon Kearse.. On the secondary issues, Williams was blunt on his criticisms of the play of Walt Harris and Carlos Rogers saying that both were victims of "squatting" or moves not routes.. He said the mistakes fall on him for not coaching them properly.. Overall he said he was pleased with the majority of the game his team played on defense, but he said 4 plays in Tampa made him sleepless that night and he said he couldn't wait to get to the office Monday morning to point out the mistakes to his players in the hopes of correcting them.. WR David Patten met with a specialist and will make a determination on Friday whether to have his knee scoped.. He remains doubtful for this week.. Preparing for the liklihood of being without Patten, the team brought in training camp cut Jimmy Farris.. He could be signed as early as tomorrow if Patten is indeed out.. The Redskins do have 2 receivers on their practice squad, Rich Parson from Maryland and rookie Steven Harris.. S Sean Taylor was upgraded to probable after he returned to practice on Thursday still dealing with a sore ankle.. DE Phillip Daniels also returned after missing Wednesday's with his latest ailment, an elbow injury.. DT Cornelious Griffin missed practice for the second straight day, he remains highly questionable to be able to play against Oakland.. RB Clinton Portis attened his Thursday media press conference as "Dolla Bill." His character this week was "investigating" the fines he received last week for uniform infractions against the Eagles.. Portis answered no serious question seriously perpetuating the joke for about five minutes.. Portis was wearing a neon green leisure suit with tiger patterneed cuffs and collars.. He had on large glasses that spelled out the word "cool," a black wig, and a second hairpiece on his chest that he referred to as his chest hair... He even somewhat propositioned Comcast Sportsnet's Kelli Johnson by telling her he could help do his hair if he "knows I mean." Following the show and tell, I sat down with Portis and talked to him about his vision, which the team contends is troublesome at night.. Portis said he wears glasses at night and that the bright stadium lights hurt his eyes, thus he prefers to wear a dark visor.. He says he has petitioned the team for the use of the visor which is not allowed unless the league approves it beforehand.. The team, specifically Joe Gibbs told me earlier in the week that he also is trying to get Portis to be allowed to wear the visor with the hopes of having that part of the fine from a week ago rescinded..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Wednesday, November 16
November 16-- Return of the Norv
by coveringtheredskins on November 16, 2005 06:59PM (EST)
Joe Gibbs stops short of apologizing for his candid remarks about the officiating in the Buccaneers loss, but did say he shouldn't have talked so openly about it saying his emotions got ahead of him and that he should have just said the team was sending certain plays to the league for reveiew and left it at that.. Gibbs said he called the league himself to explain his thoughts on the numerous calls he described as being wrong.. he also reiterated that the refs do not win and lose games.. Gibbs said he has received no word from the league in regard to the plays he submitted.. WR David Patten missed practice Wednesday and will have tests on his knee that he injured last Thursday in practice.. The team has already listed him as doubtful for the Raiders game.. Gibbs openly talked about the possibility of having to call up a practice squad receiver, either Rich Parson (Maryland) or Steven Harris (Arkansas rookie) if Patten can't go.. DT Cornelious Griffin did some work on the side with the trainers but was not able to participate in practice on Wednesday.. he is listed as questionable with a hip flexor.. DT Joe Salave'a was held out of practice with his sore foot.. He is probable.. DE Phillip Daniels did not take part in the team portion of practice listed now with an elbow injury, he is probable.. S Sean Taylor also missed Wednesday's work resting a sore ankle but the team is hopeful he'll return on Thursday with the hopes he'll play, he is listed as questionable.. S Omar Stoutmire who missed the last two games with a hamstring injury was back at practice on Wednesday.. RB Ladell Betts also missed Wednesday's work, he has a srpained knee and is questionable.. If Betts can't go, Rock cartwright would take his spot as the primary back-up to Clinton Portis at RB and would join James Thrash as the kick returners... Thrash and Santana Moss are used for punt returns.. Oakland injuries: G Langston Walker (abdomen) out, CB Charles Woodson (broken leg) out, DE Bobby Hamilton (ankle) doubtful, RB Omar Easy (knee) questionable, C Adam Treu (knee) questionable, G Brad Badger (knee) probable, LB Danny Clark (knee) probable, DB Renaldo Hill (hip) probable, WR Randy Moss (groin/ribs/pelvis) probable Norv Turner was on the conference call with the area reporters and was pretty reserved about his feelings upon returning to Fed Ex Field for the first as a head coach opposite the Redskins.. He said he does have a lot of feelings, but tried to state that he is more concerned with the state of his team then the emotions of coming back to the place that gave him his first NFL coaching job.. DT Warren Sapp was asked about Norv, and in a rediculous moment he left a Randy Moss esque long silence before answering, turned out he just didn't hear the question.. When repeated however, Sapp didn't have many glowing statements other then to say he's an offensive genius.. Not sure if he was being sarcastic.. The Skins do have some former Norv players left, Guard Ray Brown said Norv was a good coach that was in a tough position following Gibbs but was one that was very confident in himself coming off a Dallas Super Bowl championship when he was hired.. T Jon Jansen said he was somewhat surprised to undergo the changes to the roster following the 99 playoff season but then got used to it as the norm in DC.. He, Cory Raymer and Mike Sellars all had nice things to say about Norv.. Carlos Rogers admits his ankle finally started to feel 100 percent about a week ago.. There is no certainty whether his playing time will increase.. Numerous defensive players were asked ad nauseum about the inability to generate a pass rush, most in regard to the TB game said that the Bucs game planned well and max protected.. Rogers and Walt Harris believe there have been communication issues in the secondary that have led to some of the problems
Comments (2) Permanent Link Cosmos
Monday, November 14
November 14-- Skins say Refs blew Alstott Call
by coveringtheredskins on November 14, 2005 09:36PM (EST)
Joe Gibbs says the replay they have clearly shows that that Mike Alstott was down 6 inches before crossing the goal line on the decisive two point conversion that gave the Buccaneers a one point win Sunday.. The team was also beefed by a force out call on an earlier catch by a Bucs receiver that led to a score.. The team could not review the play because of the force out which he believes did not occur.. As for the controversial Ladell Betts kick off return for a touchdown, Gibbs said he believes the right call was made not reverse it because you see his toes in play and his heel not actually touch down on the white line... On the blocked extra point, Gibbs believes the Redskins should not have been called offside because the center picked up the ball.. There was a tell the Skins had been working on all week in preparation for a block opportunity.. You cannot challenge an offside penalty.. Gibbs said he will be sending those and some other plays to the league.. Gibbs said overall he is for instant replay, he believes it is a good system, if it is administered correctly... Gibbs also believes one of the turnovers was caused because someone in the crowd blew a whistle which forced some of the Redskins O-linemen to stop... He said that is just one of the issues with playing on the road.. Gibbs defended Mark Brunnell and his rash of turnovers lately saying that Brunnell "is playing as well as anyone with that ball in his hands." he says the turnovers obviously are a concern, but that the QB is more apt to turn it over because of how many touches they get.. Gibbs said he does not think that his players should unilaterally change the uniform as Sean Taylor and Clinton Portis did and were subsequently fined for during the Eagles game.. He says he would back any uniform change if the entire team decided they wanted to change the look.. However, Gibbs said Portis should not have been fined for wearing a tinted visor during the eagles game.. The Skins have been petitioning the league to allow Portis to wear a darkened face mask at night because he has vision issues during night games.. Currently the league only allows players with vision issues to wear tinted visors... Gibbs says he believes the team does not need to quit being as aggressive on defense as it has been despite a rash of big plays, particularly in the passing game against them on Sunday.. He says the team must find a way to get more pressure on the QB which would then lead to more takeaways.. The Skins only have seven forced turnovers for the seaosn and were unable to sack Chris Simms on Sunday.. Tampa had given up 10 sacks the previous two games combined.. Injuries: RB Ladell Betts suffered a sprained knee, the severity was not disclosed.. Safety Sean Taylor will attempt to return to practice on Wednesday, his availability for the game against Oakland is unknown.. DT Cornelious Griffin was described as farther away to returning to the field then Taylor.. he did some light running last week, will continue to work this week in the hopes of returning full tiem to practice.. His status won't be clarified until Wednesday..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Sunday, November 13
November 13-- Buccaneers 36 Redskins 35
by coveringtheredskins on November 13, 2005 09:59PM (EST)
The Redskins lose on a bizarre set of circumstances, Tampa moves within one point with :58 left in the fourth quarter on a Chris Simms to Edell Sheppard touchdown pass.. this was Sheppard's first career touchdown making the score 35-34 Washington.. The Skins are penalized for trying to draw the Bucs offside on their first extra point attempt.. That penalty was assessed on the impending kickoff.. Their second attempt was blocked by Shawn Springs who had said he saw a tight end in too close where he thought he could beat him.. The Skins was called offside which moved the ball to the 1 yard line, at this point, Tampa elected to go for two and the lead.. Mike Alstott, who had already scored two touchdowns was given the ball.. He was said to have scored but the redskins players firmly believed (without the aid of a good replay mind you) that his elbow had touched before the ball crossed and thus by rule he is down.. the official did take a look at it but did not reverse it, Tampa wins 36-35.. Chris Simms had been sacked 10 times and picked four times in his last two games, his first starts since the injury to Brian Griese.. Today he was neither sacked nor intecepted.. He went 15-29 for 279 yards passing, 3 touchdowns, no interceptions including two second half touchdowns overcoming two Redskin second half leads... Simms ended up with a passer rating of 119.8 Clinton Portis had a big day 23 carries, 144 yards and a touchdown.. the redskins overcame three first half turnovers and an 11 point deficit to take 28-21 and 35-28 leads.. The Bucs turned the ball over once, on the opening series of the second half on a cadillac Williams fumble.. Ladell Betts had a career day, 3 catches, 19 yards and a touchdown.. he also had his first kickoff return for a score, a 94 yarder in the first half, the play was reveiwed as it appeared he had touched the sideline, but the refs did not reverse it.. This was the Skins first KO returnf or a score since November 30th, 2003 when Chad Morton retunred one on the Saints.. The Bucs offense the past two weeks had amassed 275 and 270 yards, and scored a combined total of 24 points.. Both teams came into the game with defense's ranked in the top 10, Tampa's was Number 1.. The Skins are the only team to gain more then 300 yards on Tampa this season, getting 389.. Mark brunnell went 23-35 for 226 yards, 2 TD's and 2 INT's.. he also fumbled twice losing one of them.. The Skins fell to 5-4, and remain one game back of the NYG in the NFC East.. The Giants also lost to Minnesota.. The Buccaneers moved to 6-3, a big swing game for both who as it stands now are vying for a wild card spot.. Tampa is tied with Atlanta for seocnd in the NFC South, one game back of Carolina who now owns the best record in the NFC with Seattle.. Quote of the day goes to Simeon Rice: "We grew some today in that lower region. It was a ballsy situation.. Ooh my God, beautiful things, beuatiful thing." Santana Moss said that he has learned since he came here that the "redskins don't get any love. No one believ sin them when they win and so it is up to them to not allow anyone to take anything away from them." Guard randy Thomas said he is going to be "F---ing mad if he watches that tape and sees Alstott didn't score." But they'll just get anopther apology from the league, which he believes is pointless.. he says he doesn't care what the offense did today, it means nothing.. Most of the defensive players were admaent about the call on Alstott's score, all were peeved at the defense's inability to not let second half leads or 35 points hold up.. Next week vs. ex coach Norv Turner and oakland at Fed ex Field..
Comments (6) Permanent Link Cosmos
Friday, November 11
November 11th-- Sean Taylor to miss first NFL game
by coveringtheredskins on November 11, 2005 04:07PM (EST)
S Sean Taylor missed practice on Friday, was noticeably limping and is expected to miss the Tampa game with an ankle injury that he reaggravated in the Philly game.. Taylor was officially downgraded to questionable, Joe Gibbs said tests results don't show anything significantly wrong with the ankle, however Taylor is "not feeling well enoguh to play." Gibbs said his credo is if a player doesn't feel like he can go, then he shouldn't go.. Taylor confirmed that as of right now, he is not going to be able to play.. This would be the first game Taylor missed in his NFL career.. S Omar Stoutmire also missed practice for the third time this week, remains questionable with a hamstring injury.. Taylor's spot will likely be filled by the rotation of Ryan Clark, Pierson Prioleau and Matt Bowen.. DT Cornelious Griffin was limited in practice on Friday, Gibbs says he does not expect him to be able to play.. WR David Patten was held out of practice on Friday after he twisted his knee in Thursday's practice.. he is listed as probable and is expected to be able to play..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Thursday, November 10
November 10th-- Portis and Gregg are bosom buddies
by coveringtheredskins on November 10, 2005 09:43PM (EST)
Clinton Portis was fined 20K by the league for wearing the unique socks, black shoes and unauthorized tinted face mask for the game Sunday against Philadelphia.. Sean Taylor was fined 5 grand for his socks.. Portis was coy about whether he has been fined by the league for his Thursday costume shows, which he continued today by showing up in a black wig, carnival glasses (with eyes on the front of them), Led Zeppellin T-shirt ( He couldn't name an album when asked), and a leather satchell he referred to as his leather balls.. His new name this week was "Sherriff Gonna Get Ya" he says he is coming after Ronde Barber who he believes knows some information about the death of Jerome from Southeast after his sudden demise in NY.. Yes he is nuts.. Portis revealed he and Gregg Williams often call each other names that can't be repeated on radio, Williams said he really enjoys Portis even though he is "squirrelly" and aappreciates him wanting to have fun as long as his performances on Sunday continue to be at the level they are... Williams said he is not sure about the availaibility of DT Cornelious Griffin who missed practice again with a hip flexor.. Williams said Friday would be an important day.. Griffin remains questionable.. DT Joe Salave'a missed practice again with plantar fascitis, S Sean taylor was held out with an ankle injury, S Omar Stoutmire also missed Thursday's practice with a hamstring.. Returning to practice was quarterback Mark Brunnell, he missed Wednesday resting a sore calf.. DE Phillip Daniels also returned to practice after missing Wednesday with an ankle injury.. The official deisgnations of players on the injury list went unchanged.. CB Carlos Rogers was a roomate with Bucs rookie RB Cadillac Williams.. He says he is looking forward to hitting him.. Jason Campbell (also went to Auburn and was a teammate of the two) said these two have always been like this, very competitive and always wanting to show each other up.. Gregg Williams said that on this defensive team, he doesn't have one guy he doesn't think has the right to speak as a leader.. Williams said on past teams he had to tell certain players to shut up because their actions wouldn't match their words... Williams said a players only meeting last saturday prior to the Eagles game may have started when he spoke to the team earlier that day emphasizing the importance of the game.. Marcus Washington said he has firmer belief in his coaches following the end of the LaVar benching saying for a while he was wondering what they were thinking about, but now has an all's well that end's well mentality about the situation..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Wednesday, November 9
November 9th-- Sellars relishes second chance, playoffs in the air
by coveringtheredskins on November 9, 2005 11:47PM (EST)
QB Mark Brunnell did not practice (calf) there was no real apprehention about his playing on Sunday.. Brunnell is listed as probable.. DT Cornelious Griffin was supposed to do some light running on Wednesday, he did not practice and is listed as questionable with a hip flexor.. rest of injury report: DE Phillip Daniels (ankle) did not practice listed as probable, DT Joe Salave'a (foot) did not practice, listed as probable.,. S Omar Stoutmire (hamstring) did not practice, listed as questionable, S Sean taylor (ankle) did not practice, listed as probable, DT Cedric Killings (ankle) questionable, T Chris Samuels (knee) probable.. TB injuries: Wr Michael Clayton (knee) questionable, S Dexter Jackson (hamstring) questionable, RB Michael Pittman (shoulder) questionable, T Anthony Davis ( knee) probable.. none of these players practiced on Wednesday.. Playoff talk waqs somewhat rampant, partially because we asked questions about it.. The team is taking a cautious optimistic approach.. Lavar Arrington talked openly about how unique the feeling is to have this inf ront of him, even openly pondered the idea of home field advantage.. He says he and Shawn Sprinsg were talking about how this five game stretch prepares them for their real playoffs, the final three games of the seaosn against all NFC East Opponents.. talked to Mike Sellars yesterday who is having a career year.. he says the incident in Cleveland (cocaine possession charge, later dropped) was his own fault for trusting people he should not have trusted, that he was not sure when he went back to canada to play in the CFL whether he'd ever be able to have another opportunity like this.. He says he has changed his lifestyle because of the mistake and has made football his priority.. Vinny Cerrato and Joe Gibbs both said they looked into his background long and hard before deciding to bring him back to Washington where he played after two seaosns in the CFL as a 19 year old intiially..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Monday, November 7
November 7th-- Basking in an Eagle Glow
by coveringtheredskins on November 7, 2005 09:21PM (EST)
Joe Gibbs invoked the word playoffs during the Joe Gibbs show yesterday, backtracking when I pointed out to him that he said it by saying the team if they continue to keep themselves in this position will have a shot at having meaningful games to have a shot at it, calling it a dream.. Lavar Arrington talked about playoffs, mark Brunnell talked about playoffs.. Confidence is beaming at the park these days.. Gibbs explained that the TD pass to reggie Brown was the result of busted coverage.. Sean taylor's ankle injury likely slowed him enough to not enable him to make a saving tackle.. Gibbs praised Derrick Dockery for his hustle, saying the players are taught to run down to the play after a pass is thrown, 99 pecrent of the time there is no fumble to recover, luckily Dockery ran.. On Lavar Arrington: Him being a defensive captain, which Arrington said he didn't know was happening until right before game time, Gibbs said "it reflects what his preparation has been the past few weeks, what the defensive coaches think of him, it's a relfelction of his play, we need playmakeers like him." The Skins are going to turn in a holding call against them to the league on the run late in the game that they believed should not have been called back.. The league will do nothing about it.. DT Cornelious Griffin will do some light running on Wednesday with Gibbs saying , "We'll see where that takes us." He remains questionable for the Buccaneers game.. TE Robert Royal was deactivated because the coaches believed he didn't have the explosion in his legs necessitated to play.. Same goes for DT Cedric Killings, both were able to practice Friday.. LB Khary Campbell was held out with a shoulder injury because the team was worried about the possibility of re-injury.. Gibbs praised 9 players who were on the injury report but played through, namely Phillip Daniels, Joe Salave'a and Sean Taylor among others.. Mike Sellars has been getting some carries in practice, thus the call to him at the goal line was not completely surprising.. Gibbs said he doesn't want to see Seallars stick the ball out like that again, but said Sellars deserves the opportunities and chances he is getting.. LB Zak Keasey was resigned to the practice squad.. On T.O.-- Gibbs declined to comment specifically on the decision by Philadelphia but did talk in general terms about how he tries ultimately to promote "team" in his locker room and that the Skins have only two rules, "common sense" and "Don't embarass the Redskins." Gibbs said he never thought about suspending or taking action against Sean Taylor despite the safety breaking both of these rules, calling him one of the team's defensive leaders now.. Gibbs said he will speak with taylor and Clinton Portis about their socks that will force them to be fined by the league for breaking the uniform code..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
November 6th-- Skins 17 Eagles 10
by coveringtheredskins on November 7, 2005 02:35AM (EST)
For the first time since 1997, the Redskins defeated both the Cowboys and Eagles in the same season.. Washington moves to 5-3 at the halfway point and 2-1 in NFC East play, one game back of the NYG for first place in the division, tied with Dallas.. The Skins are the only East team with two divisional wins.. Philly falls to 4-4, last place in the East 0-2 in the division facing Dallas next Monday night.. It was the Skins first win over Philadelphia in 8 meetings and first at home since 1999.. Washington will not face another divisional opponent until the last 3 weeks of the season when they get Dallas, NYG and Philly in a row to close.. Washington has played six teams with a record of 5-3 or better, 3 are 6-2.. Of the Skins next five oppenents, only one is 5-3, Tampa Bay who is coming off consecutive defeats.. Terrell Owens did not play in the game as he was suspended indefinitely by Philadelphai for conduct detrimental to the team.. Washington was without DT Cornelious Griffin (hip), DT Cedric Killings (ankle), TE Robert Royal (calves), S Omar Stoutmire (hamstring).. DL Aki Jones saw his first extensive action at DT, the line moved parts significantly throughout the game with Phillip Daniels even playing inside at tackle on 3rd downs.. Lavar Arrington started and played the bulk of the defensive plays.. He was the defensive captain for the game.. Mark Brunnell invoked the word "postseason" twice unprompted during his post game remarks.. He also had some interesting statements on the Terrell owens situation saying the redskins are all about team and that this locker room wouldn't put up with someone trying to grab all the focus.. He along with many others talked about how last year was a major learning experience for this team that they took the hard knocks which has helped them win the close games.. The Skins are 4-2 in games decided by 7 points or less in '05.. They were 4-7 in games decided by a touchdown or less in '04.. Brunnell went 21-29 for 224 yards, no touchdowns, no INT's, one fumble.. The Skins and Eagles tied in the turnover battle thanks to an Interception by Ryan Clark on a 4th and 4 at the Skins 7 in the waning moments... Washington has won the turnover battle only once this season.. Joe Gibbs decsribed the game as a must win saying the team's back would have been against the wall the rest of the way without the win.. Clinton Portis and Sean Taylor will be fined by the league for breaking the uniform code wearing extravagant socks.. Taylor likely will be fined 10K.. The Redskins reported no injuries during the game..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Friday, November 4
November 4th-- Walking wounded heading into Philly game
by coveringtheredskins on November 4, 2005 02:56PM (EST)
Joe Gibbs was as wound up as I've ever seen him, his 40 second meeting with the media was vauge and curt.. He says a decision wil likely be made in regard to the kickers by the end of the weekend.. Likely Nick Novak will be released to open a roster spot.. Gibbs says Chirs Samuels is a wait and see, he did return to practice today and says he is feeling much better and intends on playing this weekend.. TE Robert Royal returned to practice after missing Wednesday and Thursday, he will be a game time decision (calf) DT Joe Salave'a hasn't said whether he has decided to take a shot to alleviate the pain in his foot to play Sunday.. he says the trainers are working on treating him all week inlcuding the use of an orthodic.. He says today was a good day and he intends on giving it a shot this weekend, but it's up to the coaches to determine whether he can go.. DE Phillip Daniels returned to practice after missing both Wednesday and Thursday.. he says his ankle injury wasn't bad enough to necessitated being carted off in NY as he was, but he knew the trainers were taking no chances.. he also said he had a good day of practice and expects to play against the Eagles.. While DT Cornelious Griffin has not been ruled out, both Daniels and Salave'a are not expecting him to play (hip).. He has not practiced all week.. S Sean Taylor (ankle) should be able to go.. The Skins have lost seven straight overall to the Eagles and are looking for their first home win vs. Philly since the 1999 season.. The loser will be in last place of the NFC East in the overall and divisional standings.. Loser will be the first team in the East to have two divisional losses.. Philly is starting a 3 game stretch against NFC East opponents.. This is the last NFC East team the Skins will play until December 18th when they end the season facing all three divisional foes..
Comments (2) Permanent Link Cosmos
Thursday, November 3
November 3rd-- D-Line Issues, Gregg Makes a Funny
by coveringtheredskins on November 3, 2005 06:44PM (EST)
Those who missed Thursday's practice, DT Cornelious Griffin (hip), DT Joe Salave'a (foot), DE Phillip Daniels (ankle), T Chris Samuels (knee), S Omar Stoutmire (hamstring), TE Robert Royal (calf) LB Coach Dale Lindsay spoke at length about LaVar Arrington saying that it probably was very tough for him to be patient as the team essentially worked him bakc into the lineup, that he is only in recent weeks starting to show the burst and speed he once exhibited and that all the time he missed over the past year plus was not something to be brushed under the rug.. As for Arrington's starting status, Lindsay said he and Warrick Holdman have split time with the ones and that he would let Philly worry about who is playing.. Holdman ended his two day media boycott.. Gregg Williams was not asked directly about LaVar which he said dissapointed him because he had a planned answer, telling us he was going to give us a story for tomorrow, "LaVar will starting at defensive tackle for Corenlious Griffin." He was kidding.. Renaldo Wynn described the D-line as a group in training camp all over again with players being forced to move around and learn different positions.. Williams downplayed the effect all the injuries have had.. Lindsay said the team may be forced into more 3-4 based on all the health issues... Eagles WR Terrell Owens took part in limited practice on Thursday and was upgraded to questionable on their injury report.. QB Donovan McNabb missed his second straight day of practice with a rib injury and is questionable.. DE Jevon Kearse missed a second straight day of practice he is questionable (shoulder).. LB Jeremiah Trotter returned after missing Wednesday, is probable with a knee injury.. Lito Sheppard was removed form the injury report, upgraded from probable (knee)..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Wednesday, November 2
11-2 Injuries galore inclduing NO TO
by coveringtheredskins on November 2, 2005 07:39PM (EST)
DT's Joe Salave'a (foot) and Cornelious Griffin (hip) were both held out of practice.. Joe Gibbs believes Salave's will be available to play on Sunday.. Griffin is more in question.. DE Phillip Daniels was held out with an ankle injury but Gibbs believes he will return to the practice field by the end of the week.. Also out of practice today, T Chris Samuels (knee), TE Robert Royal (calves), WR Santana Moss (illness).. Official injury report: DT Cornelious Griffin (hip) questionable, DT Joe salave'a (foot) questionable, DE Phillip Daniels (ankle) probable, T Chris Samuels (knee) probable, S Omar Stoutmire (hamstring) questionable, RB Ladell Betts (shoulder) probable, HB Chris Cooley (hip) probable, TE Robert Royal (calf) questionable, WR Santana Moss (illness) probable Eagles: P Dirk Johnson was placed on IR with a groin injury, WR Terrell Owens (ankle) doubtful, DE Jevon Kearse (shoulder) questionable, QB Donovan McNabb (ribs/sports hernia) probable, LB Jeremiah Trotter (knee) probable, K David Akers (hamstring) questionable, DE ND Kalu (shoulder) questionable, DT Sam Rayburn (stinger) questionable, S Michael Lewis (quad) probable, LB Zeke Moreno (groin) probable, CB Lito Sheppard (knee) probable, LB Jason Short (ankle) probable, DT Darwin Walker (thigh) probable The Eagles are listing WR Terrell Owens as doubtful for the game with an ankle injury.. CB Shawn Springs says he does not believe Owens is going to play, Joe Gibbs doesn't believe it.. Kicker Nick Novak will not be released until the end of the week if he is released at all.. Joe Gibbs says it doesn't benefit the team to release him and the team has what they feel are enough bodies via the roster and practice squad to not have to sign anyone with that roster spot.. The Skins are also playing the Eagles this week who have gone through a kicking carousel and the Skins do not want to leave another potential replacement out there for them.. LaVar: No one would specifically talk about whether Arrington indeed is the starter at weak side linebacker this week.. Joe Gibbs did say that the reason behind his increased playing time is that he had missed so much time due to injury this past offseason into camp that he is now starting to bridge that gap.. LB warrick Holdman continued a media boycott that he started on Monday unhappy that it was reported that he had been benched... D Coordinator/D Line coach Greg Blache said he does not have concern over the status of the line giving the old coaches credo of I don't coach from the training room.. I coach the people available to me.. He also said that the character of this team will ultimately shine through that he is happy with the reaction of the team following the big loss over the weekend..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Monday, October 31
October 31st-- Reeling from the Blowout
by coveringtheredskins on October 31, 2005 09:38PM (EST)
Injuries: DT Cornelious Griffin (hip) very questionable for this week, there is a lot of doubt from Joe Gibbs and head athletic trainer Bubba Tyer in regard to his avilability for this weekend.. DT Joe Salave'a (foot) having an MRI, he has plantar fascitis, there is little he can do to alleviate the pain, it's just a matter of whether he can play with it.. T Chris Samuels had an MRI on his knee, there is no structural damage, he does have what they call "roughness" behind the knee cap and may have to miss some practice time.. Samuels said he will definitely play this weekend.. DE Phillip Daniels has a swollen ankle but the injury is not considered serious, but he may be limited in practice this week.. TE Chris Cooley is having an MRI, he suffered a hip injury and sprained knee on the same play, he is questionable as of today.. TE Robery Royal has two strained calf muscles and is questionable.. S Omar Stoutmire suffered a mild hamstring injury.. LB Chris Clemons suffered a burner.. On the kicking situation, Joe Gibbs said "the pressure is on" to make a decision particularly with the mounting injuries, they may have to release Nick Novak to gain a roster spot back.. LB Warrick Holdman told a couple of reporters he is not speaking to the media right now after it was printed he was benched in favor of Lavar Arrington.. On Lavar: Tiki Barber said on the Dan Patrick show that the Giants knew when Arrington was in, he would be blitzing constantly, Joe Gibbs didn't disagree with that statement but said he felt it was an advantage to the Skins, not a disadvantage as Barber suggested leading you to believe they took advantage of knowing Arrington would vacate certain areas of the field.. Barber also said Antonio Pierce told his offense that the Redskins D focusses in on 4-5 particular plays and will sell out on certain formations particularly early in the game.. Gibbs brushed off the predictability assertions by saying that when players win a game that is lopsided, often times they become much more intelligent in what they are saying.. Gibbs defended his coaching staff saying they self scout and are always changing their looks.. He does continue to express concern on the big plays that the team has continually given up in recent weeks, a number of whcih has gone against the right side of the Skins defense.. Gibbs didn't blame anything on that particular side of the field, saying in general it's a concern.. Gibbs said the tackling of his defense has been poor saying that sometimes "we are so explosive" that when we miss a tackle tryhing to get a "kill shot" we are exposed to big plays.. On Moss being shut down: Gibbs said the Giants didn't do anything special except never vacated deep positioning in the hopes of taking away Moss's downfield ability.. Moss said that he's no QB, but considering the looks Mark Brunnell got, he had to check down.. Gibbs said he believes this team has adequate other options to alleviate Moss as the lone playmaker.. Some other pertinent quotes from Gibbs in the wake of his worst loss as Redskins head coach: "The NFL today is being ready every week. I don't know why we would play like that.. This is why I am never confident going into a game. The next two days for us are critical in evaluating what went wrong and focussing on the Eagles. Certainly I haven't done a good job if we play like that.. Are we good enough to play good football and beat good football teams, 6 of the 7 games we were."
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
October 30th-- Halloween Trick in NY
by coveringtheredskins on October 31, 2005 12:13AM (EST)
Tiki Barber had more yards rushing against the Skins in the first half then Washington had allowed in any game to any back under Gregg Williams.. Barber ended with 206 yards and a touchdown.. The Skins took a number of injuries in the loss as well, Cornelious Griffin reaggravated his hip injury on the first play of the game and did not return..His status is uncertain this week.. DT Joe Salave'a was forced to leave for a period of time due to pain in his foot from plantar fascitis.. DE Phillip Daniels was carted off the field with an ankle injury.. T Chris Samuels left in the second half with a sprained knee, he says there is no ligament damage, but will have an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the damage.. TE Chris Cooley left in the first half with a hip injury, he returned to play in the second half.. At one point during the first half, G Lennie Friedmann was on the field as part of the goal line defensive unit.. Rookie Aki Jones and DE Nic Clemons were both inactive, potentially that will change should the injury status of the numerous D-linemen remain the same.. Ray Brown saw his first action of the season outside of goal line duty replacing Samuels at left tackle.. LaVar Arrington played a significant ammount for the second straight week even took some plays in the 4-3 packages instead of Warrick Holdman, not full time but more so then at any other point in the season.. Kicker John hall was active for the first time in five weeks.. He did not attempt a kick however as Derrick Frost was used on the opening kick off.. Expect the Skins to make a decision on Nick Novak with the likelihood of a roster spot necessitated to help along the D-line.. The Giants defense enterred the game ranked 31st in the league and had given up at least 385 yards in each of their last five games.. The Redskins only managed 125 yards.. The Skins hadn't been held below 325 yards in any single game up until yesterday.. Mark Brunnell had 65 yards passing before he was pulled in favor of Patrick Ramsey late in trhe third quarter.. Clinton Portis had a career low 9 yards rushing.. He only carried the ball 4 times.. For the sixth time in the team's seven games, the Redskins lost the turnover battle.. Washington had four turnovers yesterday losing all 3 fumbles.. NYg fumbled twice but receovred them both.. In the last two games at the Meadowlands, Washington has committed a combined 12 turnovers... This was the worst loss for the Skins against New York since 1961, it had been since 1963 since New York had won a game against Washingotn by more then 30 points.. This was the first time a Joe Gibbs Redskins team was shut out.. The loss places Washington one game back of the Giants in the NFC east standings.. both team are 1-1 in division play.. The Skins and Eagles are tied at 4-3 in last place behind 5-3 Dallas, Washington hosts Philly next week.. The Eagles are 0-1 in the division.. This might be the biggest turnaround in team history in terms of points scored form one week to the next having posted 52 against San Francisco and 0 the following Sunday against New York..
Comments (2) Permanent Link Cosmos
Friday, October 28
October 28th-- Kicking carousel
by coveringtheredskins on October 28, 2005 04:56PM (EDT)
Joe Gibbs was non-committal about who would be the kicker this weekend for the Redskins.. John hall performed well on kickoffs yesterday in practice according to Gibbs, but the team was uncertain how they would move forward.. there are a number of scenarios, Keep Hall and Novak, deactivate Hall as has been the case in recent weeks, Keep both and deactivate Novak, Hall would then be used on field goals and potentially kickoffs, Punter Derrick Frost has been kicking off in recent weeks in practice too.. If the team has firm confidence Hall will be able to make it through, they can cut Novak and give themselves a roster spot back.. Guard Derrick Dockery returned to practice after missing Thursday with a sprained ankle, he will play.. DT Cornelious Griffin was back at practice on Friday after missing Wed. and Thurs., he remains probable.. Same thing for Safety Sean Taylor.. DT Cedric Killings (ankle) missed practice again, he was listed as probable as of yesterday.. Guard Randy Thomas's wife had a baby on Thursday night.. he is expected to play on Sunday.. Gibbs is 4-10 all time at Giants Stadium, inlcuding last year's 20-14 loss where Brunnell was hurt and the Skins turned it over 8 times.. If Washington wins, they will be one game ahead of the NYG in the East standings and two games ahead in divisional play..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Thursday, October 27
October 27th-- Portis is a Vampire, LaVar gets mixed review
by coveringtheredskins on October 27, 2005 06:19PM (EDT)
Gregg Williams says Lavar Arrington " Made some mistakes, but we all did, I did too.. He played well though, he has had a good two weks of practice and made some good plays for us.. What I saw these past couple of weeks was the burst that was missing earlier in the year.." The ammount of time packages are called that he is involved in is the ammount he'll play was the essential message from Williams, stay tuned.. Williams said he had never used the 3-4 prior to this year that this was one of the new installments of the offseason and that it works well because the players are smart enough on this team to understand the differences in the switch.,. Williams says numerous other teams have similar switches.. It was used a lot during the SF game partially because of the numerous injuries along the D-line, another hint that maybe LaVar will only play dependent on the health of the D-line.. That said, DT Joe Salave'a knows he will be dealing with a foot injury he says he "would never wish on anyone" until the seaosn is over.. There is a pain tolerance issue that will test Salave'a throughout the season, as of now he remains a participant in practice and is probable for the NYG game.. DT Cornelious Griffin says he expects to play this weekend, but did sit out his second straight day of practice dealing with a hip injury.. he says he could have finished the SF game, but the score dictated he rest after he tried to return from a strained hip flexor.. Griffin played one play after being stretched by the trainers and limped of the field.. Griffin remains probable... S Sean Taylor sat out his second straight day of practice with an ankle injury.. G Derrick Dockery missed Thursday's practice with an ankle injury he suffered in Wednesday's practice.. He will be added to the injury report as probable.. RB Clinton Portis arrived at his weekly press meeting wearing a black cape, black wig, oversized glasses and fake gold teeth calling himself, "Jerome from Southeast" likening himself to the character from the Eddie Murphy film, Vampire in Brooklyn.. This si the third straight week he has showed up wearing a costume.. Portis was outspoken that he would have liked to see Antonio Pierce return.. Pierce was on the JT show today blaming Dan Snyder for the team's inability to resign him.. he made it very clear from last seaosn itno the offseason he wanted to be treated like one of the outside free agents and get paid for what he had accomplished.. Gibbs took the blame for the organization in losing out to the NYG in free agency.. On Lavar, Pierce essentially said that if you do not perform your role as scripted by the defensive staff, you will not play..
Comments (3) Permanent Link Cosmos
Wednesday, October 26
October 26th-- Lots of Probables
by coveringtheredskins on October 26, 2005 08:27PM (EDT)
Injury Report: DT Corenlious Griffin (hip), DL Aki Jones (hamstring), DL Cedric Killings (ankle), S Sean taylor (ankle) all missed practice.. QB Mark Brunnell (calf) was limited in practice.. DT Joe Salave'a (foot), LB LaVar Arrington (hamstring), C Casey Rabach (ankle), CB Carlos Rogers (ankle), K John Hall (quad) all particpated in practice.. Everyone on the injury list is listed as probable.. Hall kicked some on Wednesday, will do more kickoff work on Thursday and a decision made about who will kick this week may wait until the weekend to decide who will kick this weekend.. Hall said he thought he was ready last week and said he is ready to go this week.. NYG injury report: CB Will Patterson (back) Out, LB Carlos Emmons (slight tear in pectoral) questionable, WR Plaxico Burress (shoulder) questionable.. LB Barrett Green placed on IR with an ankle injury.. Not that he had to but, Joe Gibbs admits he changed much more then 30% of the offense this season.. He often says that team's change about 30% of what they do every year, Gibbs admits the Skins had to change much more.. He said he wasn't sure how much of the defense has changed.. Marcus Washington says he had never played in a defense before where the team would switch from 4-3 to 3-4 so much like this team.. he credits the coaches for being able to get the team prepared for the consistent abilityt to switch their fronts and remain stout.. Gibbs had said earlier this week that the Redskins aren't alone in the league among teams who switch fronts like this.. On Antonio Pierce, Gibbs takes the blame for not being able to resign Pierce, he says the team was very worried about the MLB position heading into the season but that Lemar Marshall has played great and the team is very satisfied with him.. Mark Brunnell said he is not looking at his numbers in regard mainly to being the top ranked passer in the NFC.. He said the team is proud of being ranked second in total offense..
Comments (2) Permanent Link Cosmos
Monday, October 24
October 24th-- Ranked second on O, DT health issues
by coveringtheredskins on October 24, 2005 09:37PM (EDT)
The Redskins currently rank 2nd in the league in totoal offense, 3 yards per game behind Seattle for #1.. Welcome to the Twillight Zone.. Washington has averaged over 425 yards and 30 points per game their last 3.. Still, with 52 points scored on Sunday, Washington is still only 14th in scoring offense, the Giants rank first at a little over 28 points per game.. The Skins are around 22 points per game.. Injuries: DT Cornleious Griffin hip flexor-groin is expected to miss some practice time this week but Joe Gibbs said he believes Griffin will be able to play Sunday.. DT Joe Salave'a strained foot is limping pretty badly and also likely won't practice much this week, he will be questionable.. CB Carlos Rogers is dealing with an ankle injury, the coaches decided after Friday's practice where he was limited significantly to rest him Sunday with the hopes of getting him back healthy for the Giants game.. S Sean Taylor sprained his ankle to go along with ongoing shoulder issues.. he is expected to be Ok for the NYG game.. LB Lavar Arrington suffered a mild hamstring strain in the game and should be fine.. Kicking situation remains in status quo through the week, a decision about Nick Novak and John Hall likely won't be made until the end of the week.. Gibbs credited the organization and the fans for his ability to get to a milestone this past weekend, his 150th career win.. As for the Giants this week, Gibbs said his team is going to work hard to disguise their signals among other things due to the presence of Antonio Pierce and Tim Hasselbeck on the Giants roster.. Gibbs called their presence a major problem and hopes they can find ways to disguise what those two already know about them.. The NFC East is back, all four teams are over 500, all have miraculous finishes on their record in recent weeks.. The next two weeks will likely go a long way to determining division positioning for the Skins when the second half of the seaosn starts.. Enjoy the ride people..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Sunday, October 23
October 24th-- Skins Blow Out 49ers 52-17
by coveringtheredskins on October 23, 2005 10:16PM (EDT)
he Redskins score 52 points, most since 1991 (vs. ATL 56-17), only the fourth time in team history they have scored more then 50.. This was the first game since the 49ers game last december that the Redskins have played in let alone won that was decided by more then a touchdown.. At 35-7 at half, the Redskins had scored more points in the game yesterday then they had in an entire game since a 40-10 win at New Orleans in 2001.. Clinton Portis scored 3 touchdowns, his first 3 touchdowns of the season.. The Redskins also threw for three touchdowns, 2 to Mike Sellars, one to Santana Moss.. Moss had another 100 plus yard game, his fourth in his last five.. Patrick Ramsey enterred in the 4th quarter with the game well in hand.. Injuries: DT Cornelious Griffin, strained groin, did not play in the second half, will be re-evaluated later this week.. S Sean Taylor injured his right ankle but played with it.. CB Carlos Rogers was a suprise inactive, believed to be an ankle injury.. LB LaVar Arrington led the team in tackle with 7 playing his most significant minutes of the season.. He described the moment ass a dream crediting the fans for his will and desire.. The crowd was very boisterous during pre-game in support of Arrington, One sign read "Play LaVar" He received numerous standing ovations from the crowd during warmups wherever he went on the field.. He says he did not know how much he would play that he wasn't apprised of anything, just his number kept getting called.. LB Marcus Washington said it just came down to certain packages were utlized more this week with Lavar in them.. The Redskins are averaging 425 yards and 30 points per game over their last 3.. They came into the game ranked 6th in the league in total offense which is based solely on yards gained.. With 457, they likely rose in those rankings.. Mark Brunnellwas 13-20, 252, 3TD, no INt's, a QB rating of 147.9.. The defense caused two turnovers, their first takeaways since the opener.. They also had five sacks for the seaosn coming into the game and sacked Alex Smith five times.. Washington is at 4-2 New York next week, a team they split with a year ago losing in NY in a game where they turned the ball over 8 times.. Washington had no turnovers yesterday, their first no turnover game of the season..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Friday, October 21
October 21st-- Brunnell is hobbled but a go
by coveringtheredskins on October 21, 2005 03:48PM (EDT)
Mark Brunnell was held out of the bulk of practice on Friday but did take some snaps and dropbacks in the morning session.. He is dealing with a mild calf strain that he says is feeling better.. Joe Gibbs says he expects Brunnell to play and will remain listed as probable.. Nick Novak will be the team's kicker this weekend.. He will also kick off despite punter Derrick Frost taking some of the kick off reps in practice yesterday.. DL Joe Salave'a, Aki Jones and Cedric Killings all missed practice again, for Killings and Salave'a that would be the entire week.. Gibbs said the team is satisfied with the ammount of players available and don't feel compelled to add another.. Salave'a still is expected to play despite plantar fascitis.. Killings will likely be deactivated with a high ankle sprain.. Jones is up in the air.. RB Clinton Portis took all the Friday practice reps and is ready to go.. Ladell Betts appears as if he'll be ready for action Sunday as well.. S Ryan Clark was upgraded from questionable to probable (bruised spleen).. The spread in the game has gone up to 13 and a half.. The Skins have won 2 of the last 3 meetings, 1986 was the last time the Redskins beat the 49ers at home..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Thursday, October 20
October 20th-- Portis is Crazy
by coveringtheredskins on October 20, 2005 07:00PM (EDT)
QB Mark Brunnell suffered a strained calf at the end of the Thursday practice, he and the team say it is not serious and he is expected to play Sunday vs. San Francisco.. RB Clinton Portis was held out of practice again with a shin injury, he says he will not be sitting out, that he wants to play.. The team expects him to play.. Portis met the media wearing a grey wig and sunglasses.. He has worn crazy glasses each of the past few weeks during his weekly presser with us.. He says he is not letting his inability to score thus far get him down keeping a sense of humor about it so that we (the media) don't make him upset about it.. He knows he has to score and he knows that losing will force the issue a little more.. He also did say in general he does not care who scores touchdowns here, as long as they are scored and the team is winning.. Portis also said the SF game a year ago was the most physical game he was a part of.. He jokingly asked if there was some beef with the Niners players and him claiming, "I didn't sleep with any of their wives." RB Ladell Betts was at practice again, he remains limited with a groin injury.. RB Rock Cartwright says he remaisn prepared to be the starter should Portis and Betts be unable to go.. He said last week he choked and that he will not allow that to happen again.. C Casey Rabach (ankle) and DT Joe Salave'a (foot) both were not on the practice field.. Both remain probable.. Gregg Williams says Salave'a will be on the field for Friday's practice.. DE Aki Jones injured his hamstring in Wednesday's practice, but the injury isn't considered serious though Jones was held out of Thursday's practice.. He is expected to play as of now..DT Cedric Killings remained out of practice with an ankle sprain.. DE Nic Clemons (brother of LB Chris) may see his first NFL action this weekend dealing with the numerous injuries along the D-line.. Clemons was very candid in the locker room yesterday.. He dropped out of school early and admitted he used to run around with the nightlife, drinking, smoking marajuana.. He credits Chris for helping him end up getting his GED and ultimately getting football into his life.. Clemons never played high school football, only started when he went to a junior college and ultimately got a shot to play at Georgia where Chris went as well.. Kickoffs during the early part of special teams practice were partially taken by Derrick Frost.. Make of that what you will.. John Hall and Nick Novak continue to split reps in practice with the kicking situation up in the air.. It is likely Novak will make it to Sunday as an insurance policy for Hall, but if Hall kicks and holds up through the Niners game, Novak's days as a Redskin are numbered.. Gregg Williams says LaVar Arrington has had a "great" two weeks of practice and that he "feels good" about him playing.. That doesn't mean LaVar is going to play, it's just his weekly answer to where LaVar stands.. Williams said physically, this was the best week for Lavar, saying he was really moving around well.. Don't hold your breath, but it is a sign.. Williams said no one player on his team forces the defense to shift either it's game planning aggressiveness, the question was asked in regard to being without Shawn Springs the past two weeks who has been sued as a blitzer from the edge and is obviously the team's most accomplished corner.. CB Carlos Rogers was back at practice after missing Wednesday with a sore ankle..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Wednesday, October 19
October 19th-- Everyone apologizes to Brunnell
by coveringtheredskins on October 19, 2005 06:35PM (EDT)
The Redskins spent a short portion of practice today emphasizing strip drills, tip drills, everything possible in the hopes of creating a turnover.. Joe Gibbs continued to say he does not believe in luck in terms of anything particularly turnovers, but of course he is waiting for the tide to turn and his D to generate some takeaways.. The Skins have no gotten a turnover since the opener.. Pass rush remains a huge issue, the team has five sacks, some players admitted it is one of the main reasons the turnovers are lacking.. RB Clinton Portis was held out of practice dealing with a shin injury, asked whether Portis should maybe sit this one out considering he has limped through the last through (Gibbs said some players wouldn't have been able to play the last two weeks), Gibbs emphaisized how important this game is and that he wants everyone at his disposal, that being said he leaves it up to the players to determine whether they are nicked or hurt.. Portis will be treated the same.. RB Ladell Betts returned to practice but only took part in limited reps still dealing with a groin injury.. CB Shawn Springs was back at practice, he said he will play on Sunday.. S Ryan Clark was back at practice after missing Sunday's game with a bruised spleen, but he only took part in individual drills.. CB Carlos Rogers was held out of practice with a sore ankle.. DT Joe Salave'a received treatment for plantar fascitis, he is listed as probable despite missing practice.. Injury report: S Ryan Clark (spleen), questionable, DL Cedric Killins (ankle) questionable, RB Clinton Portis (calf) probable, C Casey Rabach (ankle) also missed practice, probable, CB Carlos Rogers (ankle) probable, DT Joe Salave'a (foot) probable, RB Ladell Betts (groin) probable, K John Hall (quad) probable, CB Shawn Springs (shin) probable John Hall split kicking reps with Nick Novak in practice and is listed as probable this week.. Joe Gibbs said he is improving, that he would discuss the situation with teams coach Danny Smith later this week, monitor how Hall is doing and potentially take the decision to game day on whether Hall will be the team's kicker or not.. The Redskins would certainly like to stop carrying two kickers on their roster.. SF injury report: CB Ahmed Plummer (ankle) out, LB Saleem Rasheed (knee) out, T Jonas Jennings (shoulder) doubtful, WR Arnaz Battle (knee) doubtful, DB Derrick Johnson (thigh) questionable, CB Willie Middlebrooks (groin) questionable, LB Julian Ptereson (hamstring) questionable, C Jeremy Newberry (knee) probable A lot of the locker room talk focussed on the play of Mark Brunnell and Santana Moss, Gibbs was asked if he would like to give out an I told you so about Brunnell, he declined but pontificated on Brunnell's character for making it through a rough patch and showing he can still play in this league.. Moss is on pace for a 2000 yard season, he is coming off career highs in catches and receiving yards against Kansas City and balked at the idea that he didn't do things like this in NY saying he only took advantage of the opportunities given.. Moss is second in the league behind Torry Holt in receiving yards.. 49ers coach Mike Nolan said he no longer has any hard feelings about his departure from Washington a few years back.. He said playing with the Ravens at Fed Ex Field a year ago got out some of those feelings then, being it was his first visit to the stadium since.. He said harbors no ill will and that there is no retirbution form his part for owner Dan Snyder etc..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Monday, October 17
October 17th-- Dont' say the 49ers Suck
by coveringtheredskins on October 17, 2005 09:39PM (EDT)
The trade deadline will pass in the NFL today, the Redskins are not expected to do anything accoridng to Joe Gibbs.. In regard to LaVar Arrington, he is untradable at this juncture due to his signing bonus which would accrue onto the cap forcing the team to cut others just to relieve themselves of his presence.. Gibbs said that there is nothing personal between the team and Arrington, this is all about performance on the field.. Sources have told me that Arrington has had plenty of communication with Gibbs, where the disconnect is between he and the defensive coaches.. Arrington approached the coaches in the summer in a goodwill effort to try and "start over" if you will due to his injury.. Since, he has had little to no real communication as to why he's been dumped.. So the beat goes on with this one.. Injuries: DT Joe Salave'a has plantar fascitis, he'll be questionable to practice this week, DT Cedric Killings suffered a high ankle sprian and will not likely practice this week, CB Carlos Rogers (ankle), S Sean Taylor (ankle/shoulder), RB Clinton Portis (shin/described as dealing with bumps and bruises), DT Cornelious Griffin (back), C Casey Rabach (ankle) are all expected to be able to participate in practice.. S Ryan Clark will undergo more tests on a bruised spleen on Tuesday, he is week to week.. CB Shawn Springs had treatement last night for his shin injury, he was described as closer to being able to return.. Kicking situation remains status quo, we'll see if Hall is ready come later this week.. Gibbs did say "we'll have to make a decison about that this week." Gibbs had an odd moment of anger during his media news conference about the upcoming game.. Asked if he knew Mike Nolan, Gibbs stopped there and interjected that he had read in five different papers that the Skins would easily beat the 49ers, something to that effect.. He said, "It's a rediculous thing to say. There are no favorites up here, why would someone say we should win this game? I'm going to tell the players, don't pay attention to any of that." He also did admit this game is "critical."
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Sunday, October 16
October 16th-- Skins Fall in KC despite Dominant performance
by coveringtheredskins on October 16, 2005 07:23PM (EDT)
Skins fall to 3-2 after a 28-21 loss in Kansas City.. Washington has still never won in Arrowhead Stadium.. For the second straight week on the road, the Redskins every major staistical category yet lost.. They won time of possession by approx 6 minutes, yards by 125, Skins gained 398.. They held KC to 96 yards rushing, 3.0 yards per carry average.. But for the fourth straight game, the Redskins failed to cause a turnover.. They are now -8 in the trunover ratio having lost the turnover battle in eahc of their five games.. Washington also got one sack, only their fifth of the season, and second since the opener with the Bears.. Washington lost 3 fumbles, two by Mark brunnell, one in the red zone negating an opening drive inside the Chiefs ten.. KC took that turnover down the field and scored their first field goal.. A Rock Cartwright fumble was picked up at the Chiefs 20 by Sammy Knight and returned 80 yards for a touchdown.. All 3 fumbles were caused by defensive end Jared Allen who Chris Samuels said had a good game, but some of the thing she got were "cheap." Clinton Portis and Santana Moss were upfront about this team's ability to be in games but the necessity to stop beating themselves.. Moss had a huge day, 10 catches 173 yards and 2 touchdowns including a 78 yarder off a wide receiver screen.. The Redskins host San Francisco next week looking to end the two game skid.. Like the Chiefs, the 49ers will be coming off a bye.. Injuries: Center Casey rabach sprained his right ankle but returned to the game.. RB Clinton Portis aggravated his shin injury, he said it is painful and had to take some series off, but played through it.. He would not use it as an excuse.. DT Cedric Killings sprained his ankle in the first half and did not return.. DT Cornelious Griffin injured his back but returned to the game.. S Ryan Calrk has a spleen injury, he started feeling the effects of it on Friday thus why he wasn't added to the injury list and was inactive.. He will likely miss a couple of weeks.. RB ladell betts was inactive with a groin injury.. CB Shawn Springs was inactive with a shin injury.. LB Lavar Arrington played two special teams plays, none on defense, Joe Gibbs did not address the issue afterward though asked saying essentially it is what it is..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Friday, October 14
October 14th-- Springs all but out for KC game
by coveringtheredskins on October 14, 2005 02:52PM (EDT)
CB Shawn Springs was held out of practice for the third straight day with a shin injury, he remains listed as questionable on the injury report, but Joe Gibbs says he believes it is unlikely Springs will go.. CB Walt Harris made it through the week of practice and will return after missing two games with a calf injury.. RB Ladell Betts has been downgraded to doubtful with a groin injury, it is possible Nehemiah Broughton will be activated for the first time this week as the 3rd back behind Clinton Portis and Rock Cartwright.. Portis returned to practice today after missing Wednesday and Thursday with a calf injury.. He is scheduled to go and is listed as probable.. Kicker John Hall kicked 18 balls today and was described as having his best work since injuring his quad muscle.. He is not ready to kick this weekend though, officially he's been downgraded to doubtful, but Joe Gibbs said Nick Novak will kick this weekend in KC.. DT Cornelious Griffin, DT Joe Salave'a, G Randy Thomas and DE Renaldo Wynn, all listed earlier this week as probable have been taken of fthe injury list meaning they will all play.. The Redskins have never won in Kansas City, the last time they beat the Chiefs was 1983.. This will only be their 4th game ever at Arrowhead Stadium..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
Thursday, October 13
October 13th-- Injuries galore
by coveringtheredskins on October 13, 2005 09:50PM (EDT)
Thanks to Brad for gathering sound this week while I recoop.. Here's some limited info I could gather from my couch and synegogue.. Injury Report: RB Clinton Portis has missed practice on btoh Wednesday and Thursday with a calf injury.. He is listed as probable for the game.. RB Ladell Betts has also been out both main practice days with a groin pull, he is listed as questionable.. Kicker John Hall appears like he'll be shelved for a third straight game, out of practice still dealing with a quad injury.. CB Shawn Springs has missed both days of practcie with a shin injury, he is questionable.. DT Cornelious Griffin (wrist) probable, CB Carlos Rogers returned to practice on Thursday after missing Wednesday with an ankle injury, he is probable.. DT Joe Salave'a (thigh) probable, G Randy Thomas (shoulder) missed Wednesday, back Thursday, probable.. DE Renaldo Wynn (knee) probable.. KC: DT Ryan Sims foot) out, T Willie Roaf (hamstring) questionable but has been practicing, T Kevin Sampson downgarded to doubtful.. LB Gary Stills (shoulder), questionable.. Gregg Williams said that LaVar Arrington has been getting the same ammount of practice snaps this week as in the past and brushed off the questioning by essentially saying he is getting as many snaps necessitated..
Leave Comment Permanent Link Cosmos
Monday, October 10
October 10th-- The Refs, Lavar and CP's hurt leg
by coveringtheredskins on October 10, 2005 08:42PM (EDT)
The Redskins are hot at the refs, Joe Gibbs was as anamated in a presser as I have seen angry about two specific calls, the pass interference that negated a David Patten touchdown and a holding call on Casey rabach that negated a 20+ yard run by Clinton Portis, Gibbs called them phantom calls.. Gibbs agreed the "tuck rule" was applied likely correctly in the reversal of the safety, however, on the play, Plummer was not hit by a Redskin, obviously was not trying to throw the ball, and even if they called it a pass, the ball ended up landing behind him, by any standard, that is a lateral/fumble, live ball and in essence should have been ruled a safety.. The Skins are sending all of these plays to the league.. Gibbs beleives it was one of the worst officiated games for his team.. Injuries: CB Shawn Springs has a bruised shin, he is questionable to be able to practice this week, CB Walt Harris is still dealing with a calf injury, Gibbs described his situation in light of Spring's leg as one where he is "expected" to be back.. RB Clinton Portis suffered a shin injury as well but played through it, Gibbs admitted that it was very swollen today and his status for practice availability this week is in question.. Portis was uncomfortable running outside due to the discomfort during the game and asked to be used on interior run plays.. RB Ladell Betts is dealing with a thigh/groin injury, was inable to return kicks during the Denver game but took snaps at back, he is questionable for practice this week as well.. On the kicking situation: Joe Gibbs said he is forced to carry two kickers right now leading us to believe that John Hall will remain on the roster until he is healthy enough for the team to go back to him.. On the blocked FG's: Gibbs said things will have change on the protection in the middle of the line calling the play "soft." On the two point conversion, Gibbs said that the play called was one that was practiced over and over during the week, he has what they call, "money Money" plays that are used in particular situations like conversions and 3rd and short etc.. This was one of those plays that got partially derailed because tight end Robert Royal slipped coming off the line into his break... Gibbs credited Ian Gold for making a good play to deflect Brunnell's pass to David Patten.. On Lavar Arrington: "We want Lavar to play." Could have fooled me, but that remains the credo at the Park.. Gibbs said how much time Lavar has missed over the course of the last year is playing a role in the decision to keep him benched.. Arrington did not get a single snap in Denver partially because Gibbs said the team substituted less then usual because the defensive coaches were concerned about everyone understanding their roles against the Broncos offense which is proficient at all the bootlegs and misdirection.. Last week Gibbs and Arrington had a public conversation after practice witnessed but not heard by the media that was described by some (not this station) as heated.. Gibbs explained that the talk was congenial and Gibbs recalled that he told Lavar that "He could help this team." Gibbs during the press conference expanded by saying Lavar could say rush the punter, and yet Lavar isn';t used on special teams so that would seem contrary to what was stated.. Gibbs said Gregg Williams would address this more later in the week..
Comments (1) Permanent Link Cosmos
October 9th-- Skins Fall in Denver
by coveringtheredskins on October 10, 2005 01:21AM (EDT)
Redskins become the last unbeaten to fall in the NFC, by a few hours after losing to Denver 21-19.. The Skikns nearly overcame their second double digit fourth quarter deficit in 3 games by scoring a TD in the game's final minute only to have a two point coversion headed for David Patten batted away by Ian Gold in the end zone.. The Redskins had their biggest offensive output since Joe Gibsb return 447 yards behind 30 of 53 passing by Mark Brunnell for 322 yards, his second 300 plus yard game as a Redskin.. Clinton Portis had his seocnd 100 plus yard game.. For the second straight week, the Redskins had a field goal blocked.. They also took a special teams penalty that negated them the opportunity to try a long 54 yard attempt at the end of the first half.. Washington also a had a safety reversed by the refs.. Jake Plummer was hit inside his own five and fumble into the end zone where he recovered and was tackled by Ade Jimoh.. The Refs called the tuck rule as Plummer's arm was going forward when he was hit and lost control of the ball.. The Redskins are going to send the play to the league for review, it won't change anything of course.. Injuries: Shawn Springs left in the first half and did not return after aggravating a shin injury suffered Thursday in practice.. he will be re-evaluated later in the week.. The Skins reported no other injuries.. Clinton Portis suffered a calf or ankle injury but played with it.. Ladell Betts stopped retunring kickoffs likely due to a sore thigh he suffered last week in practice.. DT Joe Salave'a suffered a minor leg injury and played with it.. K Nick Novak got a stinger after making a tackle on a kick return, he says the pain went away a few minutes later.. Washington outgained Denver by nearly 200 yards and held the ball for more then 7 minutes, but had ten penalties, no takeaways for the third straight game and no sacks.. Tatum Bell became the first running back to go over 100 yards rushing in nine games against Washington, two of his 12 carries were touchdowns, a 34 yarder on a 4th and inches play and a 55 yarder in the 3rd quarter.. The other 26 Denver rushes accounted fro 76 yards.. Jake Plummer was held under 100 yards passing.. Bell was the second round pick of Denver acquired from Washington in the Champ Bailey/Clinton Portis deal.. Portis was booed every time he touched the ball by the Bronco fans... he and Al Wilson had a mini war going on with each other taking shots at one another... There was a sign in the stadium that read: "Portis Wears a Skirt." Washington is 3-1 and at Kansas City next week, the Chiefs had a bye this week, the opponent the week after San Francisco will also be coming off a bye when they face Washington.. The Skins are a half game behin the Giants for first in the NFC East.. The NYG were off this weekend..
Leave Comment Permanent Link Cosmos
Friday, October 7
October 7th-- Harris, Hall out for Denver
by coveringtheredskins on October 7, 2005 02:41PM (EDT)
Kicker John Hall will be downgraded to doubtful on the injury report, but Joe Gibbs says he will not kcik in Denver, Nick Novak will.. CB Walt Harris will be downgraded to doubtful with a calf injury, Joe Gibbs says he does not expect him to play.. Gibbs said he didn't and still doesn't believe the injury is serious or long term, still he's missed two staright games and hasn't practiced at all over that time frame.. RB Ladell Betts was held out of practice today due to a thigh injury, he will be listed as probable for the game.. CB Shawn Springs also was held out of practice after he was kicked in the shin during Thursday's work.. He will also be listed as probable.. The Redskins will potentially make a roster move to bolster the secondary as they did a week ago thanks to the Harris injury..
Leave Comment Permanent Link Cosmos
Thursday, October 6
October 6th-- LaVar Isn't Used in Practcie Either
by coveringtheredskins on October 6, 2005 06:19PM (EDT)
League sources tell me LaVar Arrington's practice reps are the same as the ammount of time he sees in the game, few and far between.. The relationship between Arrington and his coaches is not particularly strained, just confusing as Arrington is not certain why he has fallen so far down the depth chart.. In explaining his position, Gregg Williams says he will not relent on playing the players he believes gives him the best chance to win and said that his staff says you have to practice well to warrant snaps on Sundays.. Arrington has obviously in this staff's eyes performed well enough in practice to warrant getting practice snaps and thus a limited ammount of potential game expereince.. Williams said the media is blowing this out of proportion, Arrington said he does not want to be part of a weekly soap opera, it is what it is, "I am not the starter," still the situation remains curious at best.. Arrington future is extremely muddied right now, the team would have to take a near 12 million dollar cap hit to release or trade Arrington come the offseason.. Trading him now is impossible for cap purposes..The trade deadline by the way is the 18th of October.. CB Walt Harris missed practice again, he remains questionable for the game against Denver.. Kicker John Hall was held out of practcie again, it remains highly likely that Nick Novak will be kicking for the Redskins in Denver.. There are no changes to the injury report from yesterday.. The Redskins have taken considerable practice time to try and work on stopping the bootleg aspect of the Broncos offense.. Denver obviously has a very proficient run game, Jake Plummer and his the boot leg action style plays are a large porition of the misdirection their offense has success with.. Gregg Williams says the team is hoping to counteract it.. Clinton Portis says he is not surprised he was traded a couple of offseaosns ago naming players like Randy Moss, TO, Marshall Faulk etc as examples of prime athletes being dealt in the prime of their careers.. He also downplayed the return to denver syaing it is important to him to perform well but he has continued the mantra that the Skins are not about him, but about winning.. There also was a tremendous ammount of discussion about the "dirty" O-line play by Denver.. Most of the Redskins towed the line on this saying if there is no flag thrown, there is no illegal play, but all agreed this is right on the line of fair play..
Leave Comment Permanent Link Cosmos
Wednesday, October 5
October 5th-- Champ Talks
by coveringtheredskins on October 5, 2005 07:19PM (EDT)
Mums the word on Lavar Arrington a couple days after confirmation of his benching... Marcus Washington was PC saying Lavar needs to be more sure of himself, health wise and ultimately he'll end up being a bigger part of the defense.. Gregg Williams will address the media tomorrow and obviously will be asked about the situation.. CB Walt Harris did not practice again today, his calf injury has him questionable for Sunday's game in Denver.. Kicker John Hall did some light kicking in the morning but was said by Joe Gibbs to not be ready to kick right now leading one to believe Nick Novak will be kicking again in denver, Hall is listed as questionable.. Safety Pierson Prioleau returned to practice after missing last week with a hamstring injury, he is listed as probable.. Other son the injury list: LB Chris Clemons (knee) probable, T Jon Jansen (thumbs) probable, S Sean Taylor (shoulder), probable.. Taylor was at practice and Joe Gibbs said there is no concerns about Taylor playing this weekend right now.. Jansen is having another set of x-rays on his broken thumbs, one of which might have a less limiting cast on it this week.. Gibbs said one is ahead of schedule in it's healing.. jansen's pain threshold will be a determinent if he can go with a lighter device to protect the thumb... Denver injury report: CB Champ Bailey (hamstring) questionable, CB Roc Alexander (hamstring) questionable, LB Patrick Chukwurah (thigh) questionable, LB Louis Green (hamstring) questionable, WR Charkie Adams (knee) probable, TE Stephen Alexander (thigh) probable, S Nick ferguson (knee) probable, TE Nate Jackson (hamstring) probable, CB Darrent Williams (ankle) probable The team is working feverishly on turnovers in practice in the hopes of getting their hands on some takeaways this week.. They had none the past two games.. Gibbs says "we make a big deal" when we get an interception in practice.. Gibbs is a huge study of the field position aspect of the game and knows his team is defying fate by losing the TO battle three straight weeks yet winning all 3 games... Champ Bailey spoke to us via conference call and said he is uncertain whether he will be able to play this weekend, he missed last week with a hamstring injury, but noted, "if I can run, I'm playing." He says there is no particular feeling he has about playing the Redskins and added little about the deal that sent him to Denver.. He did credit the Broncos organization for having more continuity calling the organization better run.. Portis speaks to us tomorrow...
Leave Comment Permanent Link Cosmos
Monday, October 3
October 3rd-- LaVar is Benched
by coveringtheredskins on October 3, 2005 08:52PM (EDT)
LaVar Arrington has officially been benched.. His knee is not the reason for his limited playing time.. Arrington denies that he ever told the coaches he would not take part in special teams if they asked him, which he says they have not.. Joe Gibbs would not address the rumors spread on Fox TV yesterday about Arrington's benching being punishment for failing to take part in special teams meetings.. Arrington told a group of reporters his knee is 100 percent even daring one reporter to race him to prove it.. He also said he is no loinger interested in allowing this to become a soap opera saying that he is not a starter, Warrick Holdman is the starter and he will do the best he can to root for his teammates.. Joe Gibbs, in one of his more clear statements also characterized Arrington as not a starter and that it is a situation the team will have to work through.. S Sean Taylor's shoulder is not deemed serious, the team is working on a new type of padding to help alleviate pain in his shoulder which he initiailly injure din the Dallas game.. S Pierson Prioleau potentially will be back at practice this week, he missed the Seattle game with a hamstring injury.. CB Walt Harris did not take part in any work on Monday still dealing with a calf injury, he remains questionable for the Broncos game.. The team released CB Dimitri Patterson and resigned LB Zak Keasey.. John Hall did some light kicking on Monday, his status remains up in the air.. Nick Novak's short kick offs were by design.. Joe Gibbs said the team had worked on a pooch kick, they felt they had a good chance to limit Seattle's return game with a particular high kick to the right side of the formation, Gibbs said he was pleased with the result of it.. Gibbs said the tempo of the offense is much better this year then opposed to last.. He credited Mark Brunnell's feel with in the huddle and Portis' blocking ability for the numerous 3rd down conversions against Seattle.. He also cautioned about any overconfidence saying, "We're just 3 and 0. You can get humbled any minute."