D6 NOTEBOOK


Revis’s agents


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KLMNO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL Redskins Insider Excerpts from voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider


make offer Jets cornerback hopes to be highest-paid player at his position


ASSOCIATED PRESS


Another offer is on the table. Now, the agents for All-Pro


Darrelle Revis hope to serve up a new contract for the New York Jets’ star cornerback. Neil Schwartz and Jonathan


Feinsod met with General Man- ager Mike Tannenbaum and di- rector of football administration Ari Nissim lastFriday,andoffered them a written proposal to try to make some headway in the con- tract dispute. Revis has missed nine days,


includingMonday, since the team reported for training camp at SUNY Cortland. During themeeting at the Ros-


coe Diner in Roscoe, N.Y., Schwartz and Feinsod presented an offer to present to owner Woody Johnson. “We’re waiting to hear their


response,” Schwartz told the As- sociated Press onMonday. Schwartz said the HBO and


NFL Films crew from “Hard Knocks,” which is filming the Jets during training camp, asked to attend themeeting. Schwartz and Feinsod declined. Revis is scheduled to make $1


million in the fourth year of his six-year rookie deal, but wants to become the league’s highest-paid cornerback. l CHARGERS: An injury


plague has struck San Diego’s left tackles. Presumptive starter Brandyn Dombrowski missed his second straight practice, the same day it was announced that current backup Nick Richmond will have arthroscopic knee surgery and will be out two weeks. Veteran tackle Tra Thomas is out another weekafterhaving thesameproce- dure last week. l COWBOYS: The season is


already over for tight end John Phillips. Tests confirmed that Phillips


tore the anterior cruciate liga- ment in his right knee during the Cowboys’ preseason opener. He had four catches for 60 yards in the Hall of Fame game Sunday night against Cincinnati. PhillipswastheNo. 3 tightend


as a rookie last season. l GIANTS: Safety Kenny Phil-


lips is back at practice for the first time in almost 11 months. The 23-year-old took part in 12


plays in his first action since undergoing microfracture sur- gery on his left knee in Septem- ber.


l 49ERS: Mike Singletary


made it official: He already has seen enough of first-round draft picks Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati. The San Francisco coach said


the tworookies havewonstarting jobs along the team’s offensive line just nine days into training camp. l TEXANS: Suspended line-


backer Brian Cushing said that his positive test for a fertility drug last year was the result of over- trained athlete syndrome, a “unique” condition he contends can trigger hormonal spikes. Texans owner BobMcNair was


in New York onMonday and was expected to cite the syndrome in urging NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to reduce or rescind the four-game suspension. The league denied Cushing’s


appeal of the suspension in Feb- ruary.


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST Lorenzo Alexander (97), now a linebacker in a career spent changing duties, sidestepsRyan Torain. Redskins’ jack of all trades


Alexander’s willingness to move around leads to long-awaited opportunity BY JORGE CASTILLO


Following another grueling


morning training camp practice in the sizzling Virginia heat last week, Lorenzo Alexander joked with reporters when one asked about yet another position switch. “I’m actually trying to get


them to put ‘athlete’ by my name,” the outside linebacker- in-training quipped. If there’s any Redskins can


lay claim to such a label, it’s Alexander. Since signing with Washington in 2006, he has played defensive line, guard, and fullback; his only NFL start was at tight end in 2007. Over the past two seasons,


Alexander recorded 40 tackles and four sacks in 31 games and thought he was finally establish- ing himself as a defensive end. That was before Coach Mike Shanahan told him he would be converting to linebacker, where he last played at St.Mary’sHigh School in Berkeley, Calif. Some NFL players wouldn’t


be pleased with such an order, but if anything, Alexander took it as an upgrade. Finally, Alexan- der has a chance to do what he has been working toward since he went undrafted in 2005: earn a starting spot. “I sat there and watched the


whole draft, seeing people’s names go off, but it was a hum- bling experience,” said Alexan- der,whomCarolina signed as an undrafted free agent. Now he and fellow Cal prod-


uct Andre Carter, who hosted Alexander during his recruiting visit to Berkeley, are competing to start at right outside lineback- er opposite Brian Orakpo in new defensive coordinator Jim Has- lett’s 3-4 defense. After spending the 2005 sea-


son on Carolina’s practice squad, Alexander was released following the 2006 preseason


TRAINING CAMP TRACKER INJURY REPORT


Wide receiver Malcolm Kelly (hamstring) again did not participate in full practice. Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said he hopes Kelly will be ready to practice next week. . . . Wide receiver Mike Furrey (concussion) was also out. . . . Tackle Jammal Brown (hip) was limited in practice.


on washingtonpost.com 6


See video footage of the renovated FedEx Field, including the new 100-foot high-


definition video boards and the locker of the late Sean Taylor, now displayed in the club level. www.washingtonpost.com/redskins


Summer stories: KeilandWilliams Competing with


Pro Bowlers Clinton Portis, Larry John- son and Willie Park- er didn’t intimidate undrafted rookie free agent running back Keiland Wil- liams. Listed as fifth on the depth chart


entering camp, Williams has impressed coaches and teammates early in camp, and on the Redskins’ first official depth chart is tied with Parker for fourth- string. “When I signed here as a free agent, I


knew what I was getting myself into,” Williams said. Williams is no stranger to battling


other running backs on the depth chart. At LSU, he appeared in 47 games, but started just three. The 5-foot-11, 223-pound Williams,


who rushed for 1,699 yards and 17 career touchdowns on 299 carries, said he has tried to emulate what he saw from the veteran backs, all of whom have had at least one dominant season in the NFL. Williams said he has tried to take bits


and pieces of each back in front of him in order to make himself a better overall player. He also received advice from


former Denver Broncos standout Terrell Davis, a player he grew up rooting for who is serving as a coaching intern in Washington during training camp. “That’s something I definitely did


when I first got here, I sat back just observing all of them,” Williams said. “Definitely was going to look for the things that kind of separated them from other guys in the league. ” Williams is also in the mix to earn a


spot on the roster as a kick returner, and the rookie has turned enough heads to be considered a possibility to crack the roster.


—Paul Tenorio FIRST EXHIBITION


“Ain’t no disappointment, I’m not even worried about it. I just know what I can do, and I know how I’m going to do it and when I’m going to do it.”


Running back Willie Parker, on being listed No. 4 on the depth chart


vs. Buffalo Bills 7:30 p.m. Friday at FedEx Field


33


Days until kickoff The Redskins will open the season Sept. 12 against the Dallas Cowboys.


TODAY’S SCHEDULE


When: 8:30 a.m. Where: Redskins Park, Ashburn. Admission, parking: Free. Updates: 703-726-7411.


and signed with Baltimore. He was released five days later and left pondering his future. “When I asked him what he


wasgoing to do, itwasright then and there that he said he needed to have something set up in case it was his last day in the profes- sion,” said Omar Young, Alexan- der’s best friend since high school. That thing was aiding inner-


city youth and formulating a plan to start afoundation,which he established in 2008. The Lorenzo Alexander ACES serves inner-city youth in Oakland and Washington D.C. with various programs throughout the year. “He’s the spearhead; he’s in-


volved in every meeting, every sponsorship, every decision. He’s super hands-on with that,” Young said. “That’s truly his baby.” “I started it because growing


up I had a lot of people help me,” said Alexander, 27. “I grew up in Oakland, in the inner-city, just like D.C. I just felt kids need some kind of support. You don’t need a lot of money to do it. It just started with me going out and talking to kids in the com- munity.” After getting cut by the Ra-


vens, he was given another chance and signed with Wash- ington in October 2006. He was putonthe practice squad, where he playedonboth lines and tight end. An interior defensive line- manout of college, the Redskins converted him to guard during the following offseason. He ar- rived at trainingcampexpecting to continueonthe offensive line. But the coaching staff wanted him back on defense. “I had to de-program myself


and go learn the defensive play- book,” he recalled. “And then when we started the season, I ended up back on offensive line, so I was just all over the place.” Throughout all the shuffling, Alexander has exhibited a re-


lentless desire that was on full display during a special teams play in a preseasongameagainst Tennessee in 2007. “He got his helmet knocked


off and still made a face tackle with his face, he made a big hit and had to get stitches because he was playing full speed, hel- met on or not,” former Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams recalled. Asked if he would make that


play again, Alexander simply re- plied, “Nah.” Then he changed his mind. “I would still chase the ball


down,” he decided. “I would probably do it, but I wouldn’t want to get hit like that again.” Learning new techniques


and game plans while switching sides of the ball has been only part of the challenge for Alexan- der; he’s also had to change his body. Since 2008, the 6-foot-1 Alexander’s weight has dropped from 295 to 270 pounds. Alexander’s mother, Stepha-


nie Moore, said all the move- ment didn’t sit well with her son at first. “It initially bothered him,”


Moore said of her son’s constant adjustments. “He said, ‘Okay, they’re moving me here, they’re moving me there and I’m not getting the opportunity to focus on one area so that you can see how well I can do.’He dug down deep and said, ‘Wherever they put me, I’mgonna have to play.’ ” As difficult and frustrating as


the constant transitioning has been, itwasaway foranundraft- ed player to stay in the league, waiting for the right chance. “That’s really what makesme


appreciate where I’m at now as far as having the opportunity to start,” Alexander said. “Being undrafted, being on the practice squad for two years, and I just kind of worked my way up the ranks. It’s been a blessing in that way.”


castilloj@washpost.com


Third-stringWR Kelly still sidelined Wide receiverMalcolm


Kelly, still sidelined because of a hamstring injury, is not expected to play in Friday’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills at FedEx Field. Redskins CoachMike Shanahan stopped short of ruling Kelly out but said if he’s unable to practice this week, he won’t see time in Friday’s game. “A hamstring injury,


sometimes it’s a couple of days, other times it’s a couple of weeks,” Shanahan said. “Obviously, his has been a little more serious than we first thought. “But he’s working extremely


hard getting ready to play and he doesn’t want to set himself back.Hopefully, next week he’s ready to go.” Kelly was at practice


Monday, doing sidework and again sitting out team drills. On the team’s depth chart, he’s listed as a third-teamer, behind SantanaMoss and Anthony Armstrong.


Parker listed fourth When the Redskins opened


camp, one of the biggest uncertainties was how coaches might juggle the three veteran running backs. That’s not such a pressing concern at the moment, as Willie Parker is no longer among the top three. Parker appears slated to


enter the team’s first preseason game as theNo. 4 running back, behind Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson and Ryan Torain.


While Parker himself has


said the backfield is a bit crowded—“It’s only one ball,” he said last week, “so therefore, you know [there] probably can’t be enough room for all of us”—it appears that Portis and Johnson could be turning the team’s running game into a tandem rather than a trio. Asked about Parker’s


performance thus far, Shanahan didn’t speak in definitive terms following Monday’s practice, though he did seem to play down the significance of the depth chart. “I think I’ve said it since Day


One, I’ve got five running backs that I believe can help us win in theNational Football League,” he said. “We’re going to take all of training camp and the preseason games to


evaluate these players to see how they play and see how they practice.We’ve only been a little over a week into our camp.We’ve got a number of days left, not only in our camp, but to evaluate these guys in preseason games. “Then when we get to our


53, we’ll decide who’s first, second, third, who’ll be there in passing situations. It’s just part of the process,” he added. “For somebody to tell you now that they’ve got a real good idea, I don’t think it’d be fair.”


Full practice for DL Defensive lineman Albert


Haynesworth participated fully in practice for the first time. Haynesworth, after finally


passing his conditioning test on his fourth attempt Saturday, was limited in his first practice during Fan Appreciation Day in Ashburn. Players were off Sunday, andHaynesworth worked at nose tackle with the second-team defense as practiced resumed. “I think he looked pretty


good,” Shanahan said after the morning session. “I haven’t had a chance to look at [video of] practice on the defensive side, but what I sawlooked pretty good.” After skipping all but one


day of the offseason program, Haynesworth, the Redskins say, is far behind his teammates in learning the new 3-4 defensive scheme. Haynesworth issued a brief statement Saturday and has declined to answer questions. Initially, the nine-year


veteran will back up first-team nose tackleMaake Kemoeatu. Shanahan and defensive coordinator JimHaslett will not handHaynesworth anything. But many within the organization envision Haynesworth, barring injury, eventually being the team’s starting right defensive end. It seems doubtful that


Haynesworth, who has been slowed because of knee irritation, will play in Friday’s preseason opener against the Bills. “I really don’t know,” Shanahan said. “It all depends on how he looks in practice, what type of football shape he’s in. It takes a while. It’s one of the reasons why you do have preseason games, to get back into football shape.” —Jason Reid, Rick Maese and Paul Tenorio


TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010


RICKY CARIOTI/THE WASHINGTON POST


AlbertHaynesworth, left, runs a defensive drill against fellow defensive linemanMaakeKemoeatu during morning practice.


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