RICHMOND, Va. — The Redskins finally got to hit someone else today as the Texans and HBO’s Hard Knocks came to Richmond for the first of three days of practices. Jay Gruden and the players have been looking forward to the opportunity to practice against someone else to begin to get a gauge of where they are after a week of camp. They took advantage of the cool weather this morning as the teams were on the field for a practice that lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes.
One of the big things everyone was looking forward to was the match up of the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt against the Redskins young offensive line. Rookie Brandon Scherff was working at right guard for a second straight day while Morgan Moses worked at right tackle. Offensive line coach Bill Callahan said that he would move people around during camp so that everyone could be ready at multiple positions in case of injury. This might be the beginning of a somewhat permanent thing since we’ve seen it a couple days in a row now.
“Could be”, Gruden said. “That’s a definite possibility.”
He said they will let the exhibition games sort things out.
This could show us how the team feels about Spencer Long thus far in camp, who has split time with Scherff at right tackle. If you remember, after the draft Gruden said they would pencil Scherff in at right tackle to start.
Scherff is seeing someone in a different uniform for the first time in the NFL this week. Watt is a pretty good player to get a test against.
“He’s a technician. A very good football player, it’s great competition for us,” Scherff said of Watt.
As far as day two with Moses to his right, Scherff said of the communication between the two has progressed nicely.
“Communication is a big key,” he said. “You have to have a trust system, and he’s been doing very good.”
But does Scherff want to play guard?
“I’ll play wherever they tell me to play,” he said.
If that does in fact happen, the question begs to be asked: Is the fifth overall pick too high to draft a guard?
“Not if he’s really, really good, no,” said Gruden.
Overall the Redskins had a decent day against the Texans on both sides of the ball. Gruden was pleased with the fact that they get this opportunity,
“It’s great experience for them, really against all these guys,” he said. “They’ve got some good players over there on defense and offense obviously. J.J. (Watt) is in a class of his own right now at the defensive end position. It’s the relentless pursuit and effort that he plays with every time when he’s out there that really rubs off, when you’re talking about greatness and you see the way he plays and the effort he plays with on a consistent basis. It’s really good for everyone to see.”
Other observations
- Rookie wide reciever Jamison Crowder is having a heck of a camp and was very impressive today in his first action against another NFL team. During the one-on-one portion he was lined up against the Texans top corner Kareem Jackson and made a quick stutter step left then went right, making the catch. Crowder got some work with the first team especially after DeSean Jackson left practice early. Gruden noticed as well. “I don’t see any fear in his eyes,” he said.
- Rookie running back Matt Jones returned after missing a few days with a sore knee. He ran with the second team today.
- It was Kirk Cousins’ day to work with the second team offense. During the red zone 11-on-11 that started with a 1st and goal from the 7, he was able to find Niles Paul for a touchdown. The first team offense was unable to punch it in during its opportunity from the eight-yard line.
Injuries
Jay Gruden updated injuries from this morning’s practice.
- DeSean Jackson has an AC joint sprain could miss 1-2 weeks. He landed on his shoulder and his momentum took him into the sled. He did not hurt his shoulder running into the sled. It’s his right shoulder, not the same one that gave him trouble last year.
- DeAngelo Hall has a groin injury and is day-to-day. He mentioned earlier that he had hurt his knee a bit, but Gruden said it was fine.
- Safety Jeron Johnson hurt his hamstring yesterday and could be out a week.
- Cornerback Chris Culliver has a groin injury and is day-to-day
