The Washington Redskins have completed Day 4 of their 2015 training camp and the “identity” that people have been clamoring for over the past two years could quite possibly be forming… in a general way. An attempt to completely describe any sort of identity at this point would be futile but that doesn’t mean that one is emerging isn’t a fact.
Talent, strength and ferocity; health, leadership and cohesiveness are all attributes an NFL team wants to have. And to have all of these characteristics takes the right guys being on the team. To get the right guys on a team takes a good evaluator. Looking at these traits one-by-one, let’s examine the 2015 Washington Redskins to this point.
The Redskins do have a talent evaluator. General Manager Scot McCloughan came to the DMV with an impressive resume. He has put his mark on the team to this point bringing in big, strong, nasty guys to upgrade the roster. He brought in productive free agents for reasonable money, many that he knew from either his time with the Seattle Seahawks or the San Francisco 49ers. Even the players themselves recognize his ability to recognize talent when he sees it.
“Scot, he definitely does have a good… he can find talent,” CB Chris Culliver said today to the media. “Just like you said, he has a nose for it. He has a niche for it. Sometimes a lot of people like to just see a size or, [they say]: ‘Oh, he has one thing or another,’ but sometimes, you have to look deeper into that. It’s not just about how big or just because you have this aspect or that aspect. It’s how you become a football player. How can you see this person potentially growing and becoming a better man and all of those types of things? I just feel like he has a niche for that. That’s his deal… that’s his gift. Like I said, we have a good deal going on here and you see everything is going well. We’re trying to keep it together and keep rising.”
Talent is obviously of the utmost importance but some coaches can be successful with players that are good although not elite. What Washington has in terms of talent remains to be seen. Many think it’s there but it has to play out on the field during games. Let’s move on.
Strength and ferocity are becoming more evident every day during the afternoon practices during this training camp. First-round draft pick and offensive lineman Brandon Scherff was known at Iowa for being pretty nasty. He’s a bruiser anyway and very strong. While he’s regularly having “welcome to the NFL” moments as he works against guys like outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and new pass rusher Junior Galette, for a rookie, he’s put up impressive fights… especially on run plays; springing running back Alfred Morris and rookie back Matt Jones a few times despite Kerrigan.
Return specialist/wide out Jamison Crowder (fourth-round draft pick) has a tenacity that will serve him well in the NFL. He is a quick route runner and a patient returner. And once he gets going, he’s as ferocious as they come with the ball in his hands.
Before McCloughan got here, there were already guys on the team also have reputations for being a bit ferocious. Wide out Pierre Garçon, no matter how quiet with the media, plays with a chip on his shoulder and that’s how McCloughan likes them. Tight end Niles Paul and fullback Darrel Young are the same way. They don’t necessarily mouth off; you can just see it in their play.
Health is always a concern in the NFL and was a problem with a few guys on this team coming into this season. But left tackle Trent Williams, Kerrigan, tight end Jordan Reed, O-lineman Morgan Moses and cornerback DeAngelo Hall are all practicing with their teammates and look good.
Reed has especially been an issue with his concussions and leg issues over the years. This past offseason he had a stem cell injection to aid in the healing of his lower extremity injuries and went to a well-respected concussion study facility up in Pittsburgh to get his head checked out. He says he has taken on an entirely new way of taking care of himself in the attempt to make sure he stays healthy and it seems to be working.
“I feel great…” he said, “…fully healthy and just ready to go. I’m full-go and just have to manage myself and maintain myself every chance I get.”
New strength and conditioning Coach Mike Clark seems to have impressed the players with his program and the guys seem to have fully bought in to the whole Olympic lifting/explosive/football moves philosophy. Hopefully the continuous training will keep the team as a whole healthier overall. One of the things youngsters learn at OTAs, minicamps and training camp is how to take care of their bodies. They’ll hopefully learn fast with Clark’s help.
McCloughan and head coach Jay Gruden have both said many times that they are looking for leadership on the team. While guys like Hall and Trent Williams are good leaders, the lack of that quality over recent seasons may have been part of the problem. There will always be a few guys that are leaders in any given NFL locker room but, to affect the kind of change this team needs to change the culture… REALLY change the culture; a lot of mature, experienced, outspoken leaders are needed in the locker room. They seem to have that in quantity this season.
Defensive end Ricky Jean Francois, nose tackle Terrance Knighton, Culliver and new safety Dashon Goldson were all brought in by the GM and have, to a man, displayed the kind of leadership — on and off the field — that could quite possibly change the culture here. Add their influence to that of guys like defensive lineman Jason Hatcher, Hall, Williams, Paul and Young and you have hope. That means doing things the right way themselves and going out of their way to show the rookies and young players how to become the right kind of professional football players as well.
Jean Francois spoke after morning walkthroughs of helping the youngsters on the team make it from training camp all the way through a very long season and it was apparent he had said the things he said many times to teammates.
“A lot of teams may say, ‘You’re going to hit a wall,’ but don’t look at the wall… there’s no wall there,” the seven-year veteran said today. “You can break the wall but the only way to break the wall is to be consistent in what you do. Take care of your body. Eat right. Go to sleep. Go in the hot tub. Go in the training room and lift weights. Take your protein. Stuff like that will keep you going and going and going. But once you slack off if you’re tired or something like that, that’s when everything falls. When you’re tired, that’s the time you’ve got to do it. When you don’t, that’s when everything falls off.”
This kind of behavior is the kind that young players need to see on a daily basis. It is the kind that helped a 297 lbs. defensive lineman be productive in 13 games for the Indianapolis Colts last season; logging three sacks, one fumble and 18 solo tackles in his sixth year in the league. While the stats aren’t mind-boggling, it’s apparent on film that Jean Francois was a real nuisance to offensive lines in 2014.
Of all of the attributes that the 2015 early-season Redskins have displayed, cohesiveness might be the easiest to see. From the offseason OTAs and minicamps until now, there is a different kind of energy among the players.
There is hope right now in every NFL club across the country. It’s logical because no games have been won or lost yet. But the optimism of these Washington players is based on the knowledge that this team is now better than it was last season. The defense has been infused with talent at several positions. There is more depth. The odds have it that these two things are good for at least one more win. That’s progress, right?
Quarterback Robert Griffin, III has progressed to looking pretty sharp since the first day of camp. He is relaxed no matter what happens on the plays. He has handled the media extremely well. He has an experienced coach at his disposal now, Matt Cavanaugh, and that can only mean improvement. While last season he hardly looked like the Rookie of the Year that Redskins Nation fell in love with, he is still the same man that took the league by storm in 2012. To say “he’s done” at 25 years old after what he displayed his rookie year seems ludicrous
Once the players start wearing pads, scraps between them are inevitable. But even with the few that have taken place, there is excitement, enthusiasm and a genuine regard for each other evident on the team. Each and every guy from last year’s roster that I have spoken to has indicated that things are just “different” this season than they were last year.
“Feeling great,” Reed said about his position group today. “We’re all doing great right now. Everybody’s real confident and upbeat. The energy around here is great.”
And it’s different from last year, right?
“Definitely,” the tight end continued. “Guys are much more energized but relaxed. And just more focused than I’ve been around.”
The players are competing this year… hard. Along with that competition comes mutual respect and that will go a long way.
No one knows what’s going to happen this year with this team. As said before, every team is hopeful right now. But the Washington Redskins have been lacking a real identity for so long that any progress toward finding one is going to ultimately mean that they’re finding success in some way, shape or form. At this point, winning would be a good “identity.” But as they work toward that, the team is showing signs of having the characteristics required to do just that.