THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010


KLMNO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL


Redskins’ Hall, Haslett clash over coverages


Cornerback and defensive coordinator have heated exchange


BY JASON REID CornerbackDeAngeloHalland


defensive coordinator Jim Has- lett got into a contentious ex- change Tuesday over pass cover- age instructions, a development Coach Mike Shanahan followed by meeting privately with Hall and singling Hall out at a team meetingWednesday morning, ac- cording to three Redskins em- ployees familiar with the events. The argument centered on


Hall’s feeling that he was receiv- ing mixed signals onhowto play a certain pass coverage, accord- ing to two of those three employ- ees. But Hall and Haslett have a good relationship and there should be no lingering animosity as a result, the employees said. It is the second time this sea-


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST DonovanMcNabb throws for a score against the Rams.HisQBrating of 78.8 is 24th in the NFL.


McNabb on the tweaks: ‘It’s not going to happen in a day’


mcnabb from D1


McNabb’s footwork during the telecast. “Does he miss some throws,


he does, and I think that has been the frustrating part, what Mike and Kyle [Shanahan, of- fensive coordinator] have been working on,” Collinsworth said in an interview this week. “The thing they’ve pinpointed it to widening his base.” Collinsworth played at the


University of Florida when Sha- nahan coached there early in his career. He said Shanahan’s tin- kering is a product of his perfec- tionism, as much as it is with McNabb’s skill-set. “He’s not going to let up on


you. Mike’s going to demand that you get better, and he’ll tell you what he thinks you can improve on,” Collinsworth said. “If you’re an 11-year vet, been to the Super Bowl, whatever — he doesn’t care. He’s a pusher. He wants youtobebetter tomorrow than you are today. “They’re just trying to get rid


of that one in 10 throws that sails or hits the dirt. They’ve studied the film, and they think when he’s on balance, he can make every throw.” Collinsworth met with Mc-


Nabb, too, and said the quarter- back has been heeding coaches’ teachings and is trying to imple- ment their suggestions. But the adjustment isn’t simply a physi-


cal one. “You don’t have the kind of


career that he’s had, and not get a little ruffled when somebody says, ‘We need tomake changes, we need you to do it this way,’” Collinsworth said. “It’s human nature. But Donovan is not one of those guys who’s going to say, ‘No, I’m not doing that.’ He’s listening.” McNabb said on Wednesday


that he’s “open” to “all things,” but says it’s difficult to make a significant change when he’s been throwing the ball one way for most of his career. “It’s not going to happen in a day,” he said. “Obviously, sometimes when


you’ve been doing it for a while, you revert back to what you know, towhat’s gottenyouto the point you’re at,” he said. “Every- thing is a work in progress.” As he has learned a new


offense the past six months, McNabb’s performances have been inconsistent through the team’s first six outings. He has a quarterback rating


of 78.8—No. 24 in the league— though his 260 yards per game rank himsixth in the NFL. LaFleur said the emphasis on


McNabb’s footwork is some- thing coaches have been dis- cussing with the quarterback for several weeks and that they’ve already noticed prog- ress. McNabb’s worst statistical


Redskins Insider Excerpts from washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider


Cooley practices; might go full speed Tight end Chris Cooley, who


suffered a concussion in Sunday night’s loss to Indianapolis, was able to run through some light drills atWednesday’s practice and, if he experiences no setbacks, should be able to participate fully Thursday. “Chris went through some


drills today and felt good and should be able to go full speed tomorrow,” CoachMike Shanahan said. Cooley did not wear shoulder


pads during practice, but he did stand in on some skeleton drills. Shanahan said the next step is for Cooley to get through Thursday’s practice without incident. If he does, he would be cleared to prepare for Sunday’s game at Chicago—a significant relief for the team. “You never know with those


concussions,” Shanahan said. “You don’t know how long it’s going to hang in there.He’s feeling much better, so hopefully nothing pops up.” Linebacker RockyMcIntosh,


who suffered a concussion Oct. 10 against Green Bay and sat out against Indianapolis, was able to practice at full speed Wednesday, Shanahan said. Defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, who has been


inactive the past two games following the death of his brother, also practiced at full speed and should be ready to play against the Bears.


Rogerswants to hang on Cornerback Carlos Rogers is


scarcely in denial.He seems to understand that the first step to curing a problem is admitting you have one.His problem:He can’t catch interceptions. The solution? At this point, in his sixth season in the NFL, he simply wants to make sure the drops don’t affect him from doing the rest of his job. “I sit and think about it: ‘Man


I should have had them picks,’ ” Rogers said, three days after he dropped a pair of potential interceptions that might have altered the course of the 27-24 loss to the Colts. “Should have had four or five, pretty much probably leading the league or at the top. Butmy main thing is: I’mnot going to getmyself down because somebody outside of here—or whoever—talks about Carlos dropping picks . . . “My main thing: I’d rather


covermy man, cover the top receiver, lock him down, not let him catch the ball.” Rogers said that if he did not successfully cover his man, even if he picks off a pass in the same


outing of the season cameOct. 3 at Philadelphia, where he was 8-of-19 passing. His completion percentage has risen each week since then, from 42.1 percent against the Eagles to 53.1 versus Green Bay and to 64.4 last Sun- day against Indianapolis. “He’s definitely come a long


way,” LaFleur said. “We’re just going to keep continuing to work on it all the time.” Perhaps not surprisingly,Mc-


Nabb ismost accurate on short- range passes.He completes 64.2 percent of passes that are 10 yards or fewer and 55.9 percent of those 11-20 yards. But those 20 yards and above, McNabb completes just 27.3 percent of the time. As with much of the Shanah-


ans’ teachings, the key appears to be repetition. The more coacheswork onMcNabb’s foot- work and stance, themore, they hope, it’ll begin to feel natural. “It’s not easy. It’s definitely


not easy,” LaFleur said. “But this is something that we’ve been working on since he got here. Just trying to refine it all the time. “It’s just something thatwe’ve


always believed in, as a coaching staff. You look at a lot of the great throwers in the league. They all have — there’s some- thing incommon—they allhave great base. Donovan does, too. We’re just trying to get it better.” maeser@washpost.com


son that Hall has voiced his frus- tration over the team’s defensive approach. Last month, Hall said he would assign himself to cover the opponent’s top receiver re- gardless of Haslett’s strategy, a remark he later withdrew. Redskins spokesman Tony


Wyllie declined to comment on the events. Approached by re- porters in the locker room, Hall said he had to undergo treatment and did not return during the time that players were available to the media. On Wednesday morning, Sha-


nahan singled out Hall at a team meeting at RedskinsPark, citing a need for better communication among players and coaches, the three employees said. As the Redskins gathered to


begin preparations for this week’s game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, Shanahan men- tioned Hall by name at a team meeting, according to the team employees, who requested ano- nymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal personnel matters. Hall apparently has been play-


ing through the pain of a back injury for weeks, though the problem was listed on the team’s injury report only before the Week 4 game against the Phila- delphia Eagles and this week for the Bears game. Hall participated fully in practice Wednesday, ac- cording to the report. Apparently, Hall has received


conflicting diagnoses about the source of his pain, the three team employees said.Ateam physician initially diagnosed the problem as something the team employees declined to reveal. But Hall sought a second opinion because of the lingering pain, and another doctor called into question the accuracy of the first diagnosis. Shanahan told the team that


players must be forthcoming about physical limitations caused by injuries and trust that the players behind them on the depth chart are capable of performing well as replacements.


TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST


Cornerback DeAngeloHall has reportedly both been playing through a back injury and getting mixed signals from Redskins coaches.


Shanahan stressed he would


do everything he could to protect veteran players during the week, including limiting their practice workload to just a few plays if need be, the employees said. But players, Shanahan said, are re- sponsible for providing the medi- cal and training staff with the information the coach needs to help them. Hall and Haslett had words


Tuesday after reviewing film of Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the India- napolis Colts. After the game, Hall acknowl-


edged that he blew the coverage on a 57-yard Colts touchdown pass in the first quarter. That play, however, was not what prompted the brief argument be- tween coach and player, said two of the three employees. Rather, there was some confu-


sion about Haslett’s instructions for the cornerbacks to play a certain coverage that would be best in certain situations. Defen- sive backs coach Bob Slowik ex- plained the coverage to Hall and cornerback Carlos Rogers one way, butHaslett, the two employ- ees said, contradicted Slowik’s explanation, saying he wanted Hall to play deeper in the cover- age. The result was that Hall expressed his frustration about the conflicting information be- fore leaving the complex. Haslett and Hall have had a


good working relationship since the new regime assumed control of the football operation under Shanahan in January. Both are passionate about football and winning, many players said. But the outburst is not Hall’s


first this year. Frustrated by late defensive breakdowns during the Redskins’Week 2 overtime loss to the Houston Texans, Hall said he planned to shadow each oppo- nent’s top receiver regardless of which side of the field the receiv- er was on.He said at the time that Haslett’s opinion on the subject was not of great importance to him. “It don’t matter what he say,”


Hall said on Sept. 20. “This my team. This my defense. So I’m [going to] follow the receivers around. That’s what I’m[going to


do]. If we got to do that to win games, that’s what we do.” Later in the day, however, Hall


said his remarks had come out harsher than he intended and that he did not mean to criticize Haslett. Haslett later said he ad- mired Hall’s aggressiveness and desire to improve the defense. Hall is among the veteran lead-


ers of a Redskins defense that has struggled during the first season of a transition from a 4-3 base front to a 3-4 scheme. Washing- ton ranks last in the league, giv- ing up an average of 420 yards overall. The Redskins also are 31st out of 32 teams in defense against the pass (298.2 yards). Shanahan did not criticizeHall


for his performance in last week’s loss to the Colts, or directly refer- ence Tuesday’s Hall-Haslett ex- change. But some in the room said they believe the head coach’s remarks were prompted byHall’s argument withHaslett. Hall has played a significant


role in the team’s 3-3 start. He scored the Redskins’ only touch- down in the season-opening 13-7 victory over the Cowboys, strip- ping the ball from Dallas running back Tashard Choice and return- ing it 32 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the first half. In theWeek 4 game against the


Eagles, Hall was credited with five tackles, including four unas- sisted. He intercepted a pass and defensed another in the 17-12 victory at Lincoln Financial Field. Late in the first quarter,Hall and Moore combined on a hit that knocked Eagles quarterback Mi- chael Vick out of the game. Vick suffered rib cartilage damage and has not played since. The Redskins signed Hall in


November 2008 and resigned him inMarch 2009. They reward- ed him with a six-year deal that included $23 million in guaran- teed money. The Redskins renegotiated


Hall’s contract in March, moving up his $15 million signing bonus to this season for accounting purposes. Hall has a $3 million base salary this season and re- ceived a $500,000 workout bo- nus.


reidj@washpost.com


EZ SU


D7


RICKY CARIOTI/THE WASHINGTON POST Cornerback Carlos Rogers says he takes missed chances at interceptions hard, but doesn’t want those thoughts to affect the rest of his game.


game, “that’s not going to sit well with me.” A year after he was benched


by then-defensive coordinator Greg Blache for repeatedly biting on double moves by receivers, Rogers is excelling in coverage in the scheme of newdefensive coordinator JimHaslett. After being credited with 12 passes


defended a year ago, he already has nine this season—to go with one interception, which came on a tipped ball that he juggled into his arms.


Bears try to get healthy Six Bears players missed


practice with injuries, but only


Clinton Portis (groin) missed the Redskins’ first practice session of the week. Cooley (head) and fullback


Mike Sellers (heel) were both limited forWashington, according to the injury report. For the Bears, linebackers


BrianUrlacher (groin) and Lance Briggs (ankle) head the


list of players who sat out. Also missing practice in


Chicago were: cornerback Zackary Bowman (foot), guard Robert Garza (knee), and safeties ChrisHarris (knee) and Danieal Manning (back). SafetyMajor Wright (hamstring) was limited. —Barry Svrluga and Rick Maese


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