On the Road, AGAIN!
Yes sir, last year it was Denver, Colorado to tangle with the Denver Broncos but this year, it’s three days with the Washington Redskins at the Bon Secours Training Center in Richmond, Virginia. It was a festive occasion, similar to the environment in Houston for a public practice. As such, the team got some work done against RGIII and company on Thursday. Let’s dive right into the observations from the team’s workout.
1. Marc Vandermeer and I jumped on the air early and our radio set up was a bit off the beaten path a bit from the two practice fields. But, I had a small view of Field Two. As I was talking, setting up the scene from the facility, the wide receivers and defensive backs were doing some 1-on-1s. In the middle of one of my many diatribes, I saw this blur sprint through the small view with a Redskin defender about four yards behind him. It was rookie Chandler Worthy blazing past, making the catch and scoring a TD.
2. A few moments later, Jaelen Strong was matched up on a white jersey. Now, the Texans flipped jerseys today as the offense wore white while the defense wore blue, so Strong was going one on one with a Redskins offensive player. I eventually realized that the Redskins must be trying to convert former Florida receiver Quinton Dunbar to defensive back. Yeah, Strong whipped him on that route down the field.
3. That was a good moment for Strong, but he had a couple of lapses in concentration, one right in front of me during 7-on-7 when Ryan Mallett hit him right in the hands for an easy catch and Strong couldn’t complete the catch. He’s been excellent in training camp through this point and I expect him to bounce back and have a few great days to finish the road trip.
4. A few moments after seeing Strong flash against Dunbar, I saw a group of Texans WRs and Redskins DBs having a bit of a pow wow and then it turned into a mild fracas. It started as a Redskins defensive back made some comment to Strong, which caught the attention of DeAndre Hopkins and then Redskin DeAngelo Hall opened his mouth. That exacerbated the situation as the verbal tete-a-tete turned into a shoving match with Hopkins and Hall right in the middle of it. Then, I saw Big Tex Ryan Mallett himself run over and defend his teammates which was the least surprising aspect of the the whole thing. Mallett backs down from no one. There were no more dust ups, but the talking did continue throughout the workout.
5. Later during 7-on-7, after hitting three or four consecutive throws, Brian Hoyer went through his progressions and truly only had one option downfield - DeAndre Hopkins across the middle of the field. He wasn’t really open but Hoyer tried to stick it into him anyway. He threw it high hoping Hop might be able to sky to snag it, but it was incomplete. After the play, I was standing a few feet away from the Redskins DBs and a couple of them starting taunting Hopkins, serenading him with “D Hop...D Hop”. I don’t think Hop heard them, but I came back to tell Marc the story and he had the perfect comeback. “Didn’t those guys give up a 75-yd bomb to Hopkins last year?” Boom. Roasted.
6. Early in the radio show, right smack in the middle of one of my answers to Marc’s question, I saw DeSean Jackson walking gingerly right off the field. I didn’t see what happened, but apparently during 1-on-1s with the Texans DBs, he collided with a blocking sled and separated his shoulder. We saw him come back out a while later with a huge ice bag on his shoulder. He’ll be out a few weeks but I really wanted the Texans DBs to be challenged by his deep speed this week.
7. Speaking of Washington receivers, keep an eye out for rookie Jamison Crowder from Duke. This joker can flat out fly, but he’s best in the slot as his quickness has no peer. There’s a Vine video out there with Crowder going 1-on-1 with Kareem Jackson. Crowder darted inside and Kareem slipped on the cut, leaving the rookie wide open. At the Senior Bowl last January, Crowder did that to EVERYONE he faced. He was so quick in space, even though he’s no bigger than your youngest son. Just saying, keep an eye on him, especially now that Jackson is out for a few weeks.
8. First play of team, Hoyer found C.J Fiedorowicz open crossing the formation for a solid catch and run to start the period. I thought the Texans passing game was strong throughout the day.
9. The Texans didn’t pick up one blitz during that team period, but that was the only bust I remember during that team period. Redskins LB Perry Riley came off the edge to “tag off” on Hoyer for the sack. But, after that Hoyer found Cecil Shorts on a slant with a perfect catch and run pass.
10. Hoyer really has a good thing going with Shorts, who a few plays later was left all alone down the right sideline for a deep catch down the field.
11. Jay Prosch hasn’t had a tremendous training camp but he’s had more opportunities in the passing game. He worked himself open versus the Redskins linebackers and Hoyer found him for a long first down throw.
12. When the twos came out on the field, Mallett got a little pressure, rolled to his right and threw a dart right on the money. Dropped.
13. I thought both quarterbacks threw it well today. Hoyer did throw an interception that happened down the field that I couldn’t see exactly what happened. But, that was the only pick that I remember seeing the Texans throw during the day.
14. Late in the practice, down on the goal line, Hoyer threw an absolute gem to DeAndre Hopkins. After Alfred Blue’s strong run to the two yard line, Hoyer lobbed the fade to D Hop in a perfect spot for the touchdown. The offensive players all ran down to congratulate the third year receiver again, as they did when he made the one hand snag back in Houston a few days ago.
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