FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2010
KLMNO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL ‘Sky’s the limit’ as Redskins put new offense in motion redskins from D1
only Indianapolis and Green Bay during his 14-year tenure as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, will be analyzed fromthe initial snap. “Leaps and bounds,” is how fullback
Mike Sellers characterized the potential change. “The sky’s the limit.” There should be, though, a bit of
caution before Shanahan’s run-first ver- sion of the West Coast offense is com- pletely unveiled. Though coaches across the league are familiar with the scheme Shanahan ran in Denver, the newWash- ington staff is wary of unveiling the specifics of howitwill employMcNabb, a running back stable that includes Clin- ton Portis and Larry Johnson, and a pair of potentially dangerous tight ends in Chris Cooley and Fred Davis. On one hand, there is no need, on an August night against Buffalo, to tip those cards toomuch.On the other hand, the players must showthey are learning the scheme. “It’s hard,” Shanahan said. “You don’t
want to show too much, but at the same time youwant to evaluate players. . . .The first game’s a little bit tougher.” As with everything Shanahan does —
from filming each snap of each practice, then picking apart each player’s perfor- mance on each of those snaps — there will be intense scrutiny on every player, from surefire starters such as McNabb and rookie left tackle Trent Williams to those battling to show their worth, such as third-year wideout Devin Thomas. Though McNabb has looked somewhat shaky during training camp — throwing several interceptions in 11-on-11 drills during the first week of workouts before sharpening up over the final fewpractic- es — the real evaluation for Shanahan and his son, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, comes in the four preseason games. One of the chief objectives against the
Bills will be tomake sure Shanahan sees enough of asmany players as possible to get a true evaluation ofwhat they can do —not only onoffense,but ondefense and special teams.Thus, the two days prior to the game were spent coming up with a specific game plan — not for how to attack Buffalo, but for howmuch time to
Redskins preseason roster NO PLAYER
3 Beck, John 4 Gano, Graham P JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST Quarterback DonovanMcNabb will pilot CoachMike Shanahan’s offense, which was always among theNFL’s best in Denver.
give each of the 80 players in camp. “It’s difficult,” Kyle Shanahan said.
“You’ve got to put some time into it and talk through it, and make sure all the
coaches are on the same page. You got to let your players know so that they’re readywhen they’re going in, and you can know when someone gets hurt, some-
one’s ready to step up. . . . It is chaotic. It’s one of the hardest things about pre- season.” Kyle Shanahan said some players
“You got to see us on the field.”
—Center Casey Rabach, on the Redskins’ first opportunity to put Coach Mike Shanahan’s offense into action during a preseason game Friday against the Bills
battling for roster spots who play spar- ingly ornot at allFridaywill get extended time in the next preseason game, Aug. 21 against Baltimore. That complex equa- tion, though, doesn’t affect the first offensive unit, on which few jobs are in question. Veterans Joey Galloway and Roydell
Williams will battle Thomas for the receiver spot opposite Santana Moss. Portis, the starter at running back the past six seasons, will be pushed by Johnson, veteran Willie Parker and sec- ond-yearmanRyan Torain. Though Jam- mal Brown, the projected starter at right tackle,will sit out Friday because of a hip injury, the group is fairly intact — and therefore, the performance in those first 15-18 plays could be an indication of what’s to come. “I think we’re at a point where,
obviously,we could be very effective ifwe played at this point,” McNabb said. “But that’s not to say that’s our goal or that’s where we need to be.” Nor is it to say they know how they’ll
perform in games based on how they’ve performed in training camp. “You got to see us on the field,” center
Casey Rabach said. “Even though you’re practicing hard out here, you’re taking care of your teammates. We’re not cut- ting people on the back side. We’re not using our full arsenal of blocking tech- niques out here. You get an idea, but you don’t know where we’re at until you play a game.” And even then, in this game, it’ll be
only a glimpse of where they’re at. The full extent of Shanahan’s offense likely won’tbe ondisplay for anothermonth, in the Sept. 12 seasonopener againstDallas. Then, the sheet Shanahan holds during theweekwill be tailored to the Cowboys. Then, his team will be set, and will be more familiar with the system. And only then will there be nothing to hold back.
svrlugab@washpost.com
POS HT WT QB 6-2 215 K
5 McNabb, Donovan QB 6-2 240 6 Bidwell, Josh 8 Grossman, Rex 10 Bartel, Richard 11 Thomas, Devin 12 Kelly, Malcolm
6-2 200 6-3 230
QB 6-1 225 QB 6-3 230 WR 6-2 218 WR 6-4 226
13 Armstrong, Anthony WR 5-11 185 16 Banks, Brandon 18 Austin, Terrence 19 Wade, Bobby 20 Tryon, Justin 22 Rogers, Carlos 23 Hall, DeAngelo 25 Barnes, Kevin 26 Portis, Clinton 27 Johnson, Larry 29 Holmes, Lendy 30 Landry, LaRon
WR 5-7 155 WR 5-11 175 WR 5-10 195 CB 5-9 185 CB 6-0 192 CB 5-10 195 CB 6-1 190 RB 5-11 218 RB 6-1 235 SAF 6-1 215 FS
6-0 220
31 Buchanon, Phillip DB 5-11 190 32 Russell, Anderson DB 6-0 205 34 Westbrook, Byron CB 5-10 201 35 Williams, Keiland RB 5-11 230 36 Young, Darrel 37 Doughty, Reed
LB SS
5-11 245 6-1 210
38 Robinson, Ramzee CB 5-10 190 39 Parker, Willie 40 Morris, Dennis 41 Moore, Kareem 45 Sellers, Mike 46 Torain, Ryan 47 Cooley, Chris 48 Horton, Chris 50 Williams, Edwin 51 Henson, Robert 52 McIntosh, Rocky 53 Riley, Perry 54 Blades, H.B. 55 Draft, Chris
RB 6-1 218 TE SS G
LB
56 Gatewood, Curtis 57 Sundberg, Nick 58 Cook, Erik
59 Fletcher, London 60 Capers, Selvish 61 Rabach, Casey
RB 5-10 212 TE
DB 5-11 215 FB
6-2 253 6-3 273 6-3 255
6-1 221 6-3 317 6-0 245
OLB 6-2 242 LB
OLB 5-10 242 LB
OLB 6-3 250 LS C
6-0 242 5-11 234 6-0 250
MLB 5-10 245 T
6-6 320 6-5 315
C
63 Montgomery, Will G 64 Golston, Kedric 66 Dockery, Derrick 68 Oldenburg, Clint 69 Brown, Jammal 72 Green, Howard 72 Williams, Trent 73 Robinson, Will 74 Heyer, Stephon 75 Hicks, Artis 75 Scott, Darrion 76 Bryant, Anthony 77 Rinehart, Chad
78 Lichtensteiger, Kory G 79 Holliday, Vonnie 80 Hodge, Shay 82 Paulsen, Logan 84 Galloway, Joey 85 Furrey, Mike 86 Davis, Fred
89 Moss, Santana 90 Jarmon, Jeremy 91 Jackson, Rob
DT G T T
DT T T
OT T
6-4 292 6-3 310 6-4 310 6-6 326 6-5 305 6-6 313 6-2 365 6-5 318 6-5 300 6-6 330 6-4 318
DE 6-3 310 DT G
6-3 360 6-5 310 6-2 292
DE 6-5 288 WR 6-2 218 TE
87 Williams, Roydell WR 6-0 180 88 Vickers, Lee
TE
92 Haynesworth, Albert DT 93 Daniels, Phillip 94 Carriker, Adam 95 Wilson, Chris
6-4 257 6-6 275
6-5 268
WR 5-11 200 WR 6-0 190 TE
WR 5-10 205 DE 6-3 286 LB
6-4 255 6-6 350
DE 6-6 310 NT LB
96 Kemoeatu, Ma’ake NT 97 Alexander, Lorenzo LB 98 Orakpo, Brian 99 Carter, Andre
6-6 315 6-4 247 6-5 350 6-1 275
OLB 6-4 260 DE 6-4 255
NFLNOTEBOOK Flacco leads Ravens in preseason opener
in 17-12 win over Panthers ASSOCIATED PRESS
Joe Flacco guided Baltimore’s re-
tooled offense to a pair of scores and theRavensdefense held Carolina with- out a touchdown in a 17-12 preseason victory Thursday night in Baltimore. Flacco went 8 for 12 for 120 yards
and a touchdown.He produced a field goal in his first series, then went three-and-out before directing a 96- yard drive that ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass toMark Clayton. Carolina quarterback Matt Moore,
hindered by poor protection and three penalties against left tackle Jordan Gross, failed to produce any points during his three possessions. Backup Jimmy Clausen went 8 for
15 for 80 yards and an interception in his informalNFLdebut.Hewassacked twice. l STEELERS: Pittsburgh Coach
Mike Tomlin wouldn’t say Thursday whether quarterback Ben Roethlis- berger will take a few snaps with the starters during Saturday night’s exhi- bition game against the Detroit Lions
Quarterback throws for 120 yards, touchdown
— the first time the quarterback will appear before his home crowd since being suspended for six games. “We’re going to make you come to
the stadium to check that out,” Tomlin said.
Because the starters will play only
eight to 12 plays, it is unlikely both Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich will get on the field, unless it’s for a few downs each. Leftwich will be the start- er when the season opens and Roeth- lisberger’s suspension begins. There has been considerable specu-
lation how Roethlisberger will be re- ceived in Heinz Field after being ac- cused of sexually assaulting a Georgia college student in March. He was not charged but was suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who is expected to reduce the punishment to four games before the season begins. l TITANS: Tennessee signed defen-
sive linemanRaheemBrockandquick- ly got him on the field to help a banged-up unit. Agent Andy Simms confirmed to
the Associated Press that Brock had agreed to terms with the Titans after tweeting the news. Brock had tweeted earlier thathehadflown intoNashville after working out for the Houston Texans onWednesday. Tennessee lost defensive end Wil- liam Hayes to a sprained right medial
collateral ligament in his knee on Tuesday, and he will miss at least two weeks. Defensive tackle Tony Brown remains on the physically unable to perform list,andtop draft pick Derrick Morgan has yet to practice with the full team.
Brock spent his first eight seasons
with Indianapolis and has 28 career sacks. l JETS: Negotiations between New
York and holdout cornerback Darrelle Revis are going behind closed doors. No more finger pointing through
the media, and no more public back- and-forth. The Jets and Revis’s agents, Neil
Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod, is- sued a joint statement—a cease-fire of sorts — saying they’ll keep all future talks out of the public eye after things got snippy earlier this week. l BROWNS:Aperson familiar with
D’Qwell Jackson’s injury says the Cleveland linebacker has been told he does not need surgery and could be back on the field in less than one month. Jackson strained his right pectoral
muscle — his second chest muscle injury in less than one year — in practice this week. Jackson will need 3 to 7 weeks to
recover, and with no setbacks could be ready for the Sept. 12 opener.
Redskins Insider 6Excerpts from
washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider
OL Hicks steps into starting lineup vs. Bills After beginning his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, veteran lineman ArtisHicks was a key member of the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive line the past four seasons. While serving as the primary
backup at guard and tackle for the NFCNorth champions in 2009,Hicks, for the first time in his career, appeared in every game.He started twice at right guard and once at right tackle. On Friday,Hicks will be the
Redskins’ starting right guard against the Buffalo Bills at FedEx Field.Hicks andMike Williams were expected to compete throughout the preseason for the position, but Williams will sit out the year because of problems with blood clots. Center Casey Rabach is developing
a good working relationship with Hicks, Rabach said. “He’s a really smart football
player,” he said. “ [He’s] a guy that’s been around and seen a lot of football. He’s gonna be a huge asset for this year.
“Having him next to me is like
another set of eyes out there. When you step back a little bit, with him
playing tackle this offseason and losingMike . . . it’s kind of just picked up where we left off.He’s good.” Rabach is beginning his 10th
season in the NFL and sixth with the Redskins. The experienced player usually does not place too much emphasis on the preseason, especially a preseason opener, but the Redskins need to show progress in their new offense, he said. “I just want to see where we’re at. I
just want to see where we’re at as an offense,” Rabach said. “How do we match up against another team?We can’t use the whole arsenal of blocking techniques against our guys [in practice].”
Praise for K. Shanahan Under the direction of then-
coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the Houston Texans’ offense last season led the NFL in passing yards with 4,654 and ranked fourth in total yards at 6,129.
Redskins players have expressed
excitement about Shanahan’s plans for their offense this season, and praised him for his straightforwardness. “Coach [Kyle] Shanahan is just real cool,” wide receiver Devin Thomas said. “There’s
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
ArtisHicks will start at right guard Friday as the Redskins open the preseason at home against Buffalo.
no guessing about what he wants from you.He lets you know. And the offense, man, I just really like what we’re doing.” The Redskins ran a version of the
West Coast offense the past two season under then-Coach Jim Zorn, but Shanahan’s scheme “moves guys around a lot more and gives you a lot more looks,” tight end Fred Davis said. “There are just a lot more opportunities for guys to make plays because of what we do now. There are a lot more opportunities for everyone now.”
—Jason Reid
Bills preseason roster NO PLAYER
4 Brohm, Brian 5 Edwards, Trent 8 Moorman, Brian 9 Lindell, Rian 10 Brown, Levi
11 Parrish, Roscoe 13 Johnson, Steve 14 Fitzpatrick, Ryan 17 Jackson, Chad
EZ SU
D7
POS HT WT QB 6-3 223 QB 6-4 231 P K
6-0 172
QB 6-4 225 WR 5-9
6-3 233 178
WR 6-2 202 QB 6-2 225 WR 6-1 223
18 Roosevelt, Naaman WR 6-0 189 19 Jones, Donald 20 Whitner, Donte 21 Spiller, C.J.
22 Jackson, Fred
WR 6-0 214 S
RB 5-11 196 RB 6-1 215
23 Lynch, Marshawn RB 5-11 215 24 McGee, Terrence 25 Lankster, Ellis 26 Youboty, Ashton 27 Corner, Reggie
CB 5-9 198 CB 5-9 190 CB 5-11 189 CB 5-9
175
28 McKelvin , Leodis CB 5-10 184 29 Florence, Drayton CB 6-0 195 30 Simpson, Chad 31 Byrd, Jairus 35 Bell, Joique
FB
CB 6-1 187 CB 5-11 191 S
LB S
55 Mitchell, Kawika 56 Ellison, Keith 57 Batten, Danny 58 Maybin, Aaron
LB LB LB LB LB LB LB LB LB
OL OL
69 Meredith, Jamon 70 Wood, Eric 71 Wang, Ed
OL OL OL OL OL OL
75 Harvey, Lonnie 76 Ramsey, Andre 77 Bell, Demetrius 79 Hennessey, Nick
OL OL OL NT OL OL OL
RB 5-9 216 S
5-10 200
36 Harris, Dominique CB 6-2 213 37 Wilson, George 38 McIntyre, Corey 40 Sargeant, Lydell 41 Destin, John 43 Scott, Bryan
44 Ferguson, Rodney FB 45 Moats, Arthur 47 Harris, Cary
50 Woods, Donovan 51 Posluszny, Paul 52 Manalac, Ryan 53 Torbor, Reggie 54 Davis, Andra
RB 5-11 220 S
6-0 212 6-0 258
59 Coleman, Antonio LB 60 Calloway, Kyle 61 Gaddis, Christian
63 Hangartner, Geoff OL 65 Sanborn, Garrison LS 66 Watkins, Jason 67 Levitre, Andy 68 Howard, Cord
6-1 219 6-0 234 6-2 250 5-11 187 6-2 230 6-1 238 6-0 235 6-2 250 6-1 251 6-1 253 6-0 229 6-4 250 6-4 250 6-1 248 6-7 315 6-1 300 6-5 301 6-1 253 6-6 325 6-2 305 6-4 314 6-5 304 6-4 315 6-5 301
72 Duncan, Rashaad DE 6-2 315 73 Chambers, Kirk 74 Green, Cornell 75 Allen, Sean
80 Schouman, Derek TE 81 Easley, Marcus
82 Matthews, Michael TE 83 Evans, Lee 84 Hardy, James 86 Nelson, David 88 Stupar, Jonathan 89 Nelson, Shawn 90 Kelsay, Chris
95 Williams, Kyle 96 Troup, Torell 97 McCargo, John 98 Edwards, Dwan 99 Stroud, Marcus
6-7 315 6-6 315 6-3 305 6-3 342 6-5 322 6-5 307 6-5 291 6-2 223
WR 6-2 207 6-4 270
WR 5-10 197 WR 6-5 220 WR 6-5 217 TE TE LB
6-3 254 6-5 240 6-4 261
91 Johnson, Spencer DE 6-3 286 92 Carrington, Alex 93 Ellis, Chris
DE 6-5 284 LB NT NT
6-4 261 6-1 306 6-3 315
DE 6-2 307 DE 6-3 290 DE 6-6 310
5-10 208
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