Riggo's Rag
FanSided

Tackling Washington Redskins training camp: Day Eight

By Ian Cummings

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 24: Defensive tackle Matthew Ioannidis #98 of the Washington Redskins locks arms with teammates in unison during the national anthem before playing against the Oakland Raiders at FedExField on September 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 24: Defensive tackle Matthew Ioannidis #98 of the Washington Redskins locks arms with teammates in unison during the national anthem before playing against the Oakland Raiders at FedExField on September 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

In a mere five days, the Redskins will do battle against the New England Patriots in their first preseason matchup of 2018.

But until then, there’s still work to do at training camp.

The Washington Redskins continued with their session of training camp today after a break in the action on Friday. It was a productive, inconsequential day of practice, with the Redskins spending most of the time working on 11 vs. 11 drills, about as close to full speed as a team should be at this point in the offseason.

The best thing to hear from daily practices such as these is that there were no new injuries to report, and that was the case today. Practice went smoothly, without any new victims to the heightened pace of August.

First-round defensive lineman Daron Payne is out of a walking boot, and expected to be back to full speed in a week or two. And Josh Doctson, who suffered a bruised shoulder earlier this week, took part in today’s practice as a limited participant.

In terms of player performance, the defense reportedly fared better than the offense on Saturday, but both units had their moments. Preston Smith made an impressive stop on the goal line on one 11 vs. 11 drive, and on another, Alex Smith fitted in a deep pass to Jamison Crowder for a touchdown. To top it off, Matt Ioannidis is quietly in the conversation for camp MVP. A lot of standouts on this Redskins team. That’s a good thing.

As the training camp practices drone on, differences from years past become more and more apparent to those observing the events first-hand. Here’s what Lake Lewis Jr. of The Redskins Wire had to say about the Redskins after their most recent session.

https://twitter.com/LakeLewis/status/1025880676665573376

Also, if you need more convincing, per Chad Ryan of the Redskins Capital Connection, the Redskins’ practices under Jay Gruden this year appear to be as focused and tiring as they’ve ever been. Ryan asserts that Gruden is working his players harder, and yet, there is a camaraderie that is observably different from years past.

dark. Next. Redskins: An assessment of best and worst-case scenarios

Offensive additions such as Alex Smith and Derrius Guice are obvious catalysts for this change, but as Ryan states, there is a synergy of sorts surrounding the team as a whole. The Redskins have the pieces to be a very good team in 2018, but they’ll need to mesh quickly if they want to compete. Judging by these observations, they may be well on their way to surprising a lot of people come the regular season.

Home/Commanders News