Ok, I wasn't going to start a new thread for images and an assessment so I will put my observations here.
Call it sky falling, call it pessimism, call it whatever you want, but I heard the same **** last year when I said we'd be 6-10. I cannot stand it when people tell me that when I see something that concerns me, it's the sky falling. I am a die hard Redskins' fan and I have the right to be HONEST about what I see without being called chicken little.
There was a lot of BAD on the football field from the Washington Redskins! At times, they looked piss poor! Granted, they were playing the New England Patriots in their first action of the year against perennial AFC East Champions, but I left the field today concerned about a lot.
Before I get into the bad, I am going to discuss what I saw that I was pleased to see.
As I write this, I keep trying to figure out what player I wanted to mention first...and the one player that stood out most, who impressed me most, was Ryan Grant. He caught almost everything thrown his way. While running against the Pats defense, he was usually the 2nd or 3rd outlet for Griffin and was open most of the time. He ran his routes sharp and got separation consistently. This kid will be on the team and it may spell the end for Santana Moss because of the Andre Roberts signing. Grant is on the final day roster.
Kory Lichtensteiger...yup, I said it. As hard as I am on the OL, this guy looks totally different at center. He also looks like he bulked up a bit. He struggled some during full 11 on 11 drills, but he was going against Vince Wolfork. In the 1 on 1's against Wolfork, he held his ground. Totally surprised by this.
Trent Williams is a man among boys. He handled Chandler Jones like he was a pup. Speaking of handling Chandler Jones, Morgan Moses was pretty solid too. He made some mistakes, got burned a couple of times, but he was good...AND HUGE!!!
Peirre Garcon looks like he may be everything McD5 said he would be. Looked like he was still nursing the hamstring.
Robert Griffin does not seem to be hindered by the knee. He was cutting, planting sharply and plenty of burst coming out of the cuts...and he ran a lot due to the poor pass pro coming from the right side.
I can't stand Tom Brady, but seeing him in this setting, one cannot help but see how great he is. Robert Griffin was standing there in awe while Brady was running the offense. And that brings me to the bad...
Not only did Tom Brady make us look bad, but Ryan Mallette had a couple plays with the Pats 1st team and he did as well. Guys, our defense does not look good.
Defense? Sorry guys, I did not see much in the 11 on 11 drills that gives me much optimism. Murphy looks good, but he was handled rather easily by a solid Patriots OL. Rak got pressure, but it was the same thing with him. He gets up field quickly, but was shoved past the alert Tom Brady who stepped up as he felt the pressure.
Speaking of underwhelming, Robert Griffin looks healthy, but the kid lacks maturity. He does not practice like a pro, Brady was over there all about business until he had gotten things done, then he had fun, while Robert was all about goofing off between plays from the start of practice. I am all for having fun, but over the course of the last 3 years, I have been to quite a few Redskins' games and practices and it's more of the same with him. It's not just one practice. I understand he's 25, but I am tired of his antics. He has a lot to prove on the field and it didn't look like he was taking things seriously.
I will be surprised to see Aldrick Robinson on the final roster. He dropped a lot of passes, didn't get much separation unless in the open field and has Ryan Grant shining.
Tyler Polumbus got cremated during one on one drills with the Pats defense. He is as bad as it gets on Pass Protection, TERRIBLE. Too bad too because he gets push on run plays. That has to be why he is still starting.
Desean Jackson looked miserable all day. He appeared to be nursing some soreness...an Eagles fan bet me he would not start more than 6 games. Oh man,
Overall, we look like a talent deficient team...mostly on defense. While some of our OL looked good in isolated situations, our QB's were never comfortable in the pocket. The areas of concern for me before witnessing practice today, remain a concern.