July 31st-- Camp Opens

Fans were actually tailgating in the median of Loudon County Parkway around 1PM yesterday.. True story..

The heat caused a few issues for the Skins on day one of training camp.. FB Mike Sellars was carted off the field with cramps, he was treated with IV fluids and should be back on the field as early as tomorrow..
TE Chris Cooley cramped during practice but stayed on the field.. TE Buck Ortega dealt with cramping/dehydration issues as well..

WR Antawnn Randle-El was limited in practice, he suffered a mild back strain, the SI Joint (whatever that is), he jammed his leg running a pattern, he was held out of some drills, but is expected to be OK..
WR David Patten did not practice, he has a viral infection and was hospitalized for it..

DT Joe Salave'a was absent from camp for bereavement.. His mother passed away, he is expected back on Wednesday..

All of the players who had major injuries a year ago practiced.. T Jon Jansen was wearing a protective splint on his right thumb.. He was a full go in practice.. C casey Rabach reacted well to his first full practice well according to the trainers.. T Randy Thomas was also a full go on day one.. DE Reanldo Wynn is wearing an arm brace, he is cleared for practice..

I spoke with Wynn about dealing with what could be a more diminished role thanks to the signing of Andre Carter.. Wynn said he was blessed being able to start for as many seasons as he had and that he believes the addition of Carter will help the team.. He also said he is a competitor and he isn't going to just roll over, essentially, he intends to push Carter for playing time.. Wynn said it is possible he will be willing to play DE and DT, Wynn played an interior role on 3rd downs a few years back.. He can play positions..
Carter played most of the 9 on 9 drills at Right defensive end, he and Chris Samuels had some notworthy moments with Carter beating Samuels with bull and speed rush techniques..
Phillip Daniels is expected to play the bulk of his downs at left defensive end, he has been on the right side the first two seasons with Washington..
Carter promised versatility as well saing playing LB last year for San Francisco.. The Skins don't appear to be leaning toward using him as a linebacker...

Second round pick Rocky McIntosh was at the first team meeting last night and was on the field for the first practice yesterday.. All Skins are signed...

Optimism was very high.. Mark Brunnell said that if the Redskins don't do better then 10 and 6 and go deeper in the playoffs this year, he would consider it a dissapointment.. He also used the word "bragadocious." If this were a word in the English language it would have been used properly.. The context was: I don't want to be bragadocious but that's how we feel." It was in regard to the high expeectations..
Both Carter and Wynn addressed the expectations as well and weren't as open about it, but both held the contention that this team feels like it has everything in place, now they just need to win..
Joe Gibbs also talked about the expectations as well saying he hasn't paid attention to it, then contradicted himself by saying he has heard that no one is picking them to win the NFC East, so when the prognostication fits, Gibbs grabs...
Managed expectations was his credo for the day..

Adam Archuletta came close to the hit of the day at practice on Santana Moss.. The team was not in full hitting mode so Archuletta somewhat pulled up.. There was no incident..
First play of 9 on 9 drills brought a big roar when Clinton Portis cut back and broke loose, it brought a big roar from the crowd, it also included Al Saunders chasing Portis down the field hollering in joy...

As for the new offense, Brunnell says it is very different from the one that the team ran a year ago.. He also expressed surprise that Gibbs relinquished the offense to Al Saunders.. But he said the offense is explosive and efficient and was "not a mistake." He also said it " is our job to prove him right."
Brunnell's day was very off, but the offense is typically behind early in camp..

Fashion mistake of the day goes to CB Dimitri Patterson who wore gray spandex boxer shorts with nothing over them.. EEwwwwww..

OK.. First two a day is tomorrow..