The Washington Redskins traveled west yesterday and tonight they are hosted by the Arizona Cardinals in their last preseason game of 2010. This game will affect at least 22 of the 75 players on the roster. We – and they – just don’t know who they are yet. The NFL’s deadline for cutting down rosters to 53 men is September 4th.
Starter Donovan McNabb is nursing an ankle injury and won’t play until the regular season. Coaches apparently like to keep players guessing because backup Rex Grossman and third string competitors Richard Bartel and John Beck were not going to be told which of them will start or how long they will play. With Beck having just gotten a $3.35 million extension to his contract, it seems that the QB line up for the Redskins has been set. But stranger things have happened than keeping four quarterbacks on a roster. If Bartel sees playing time tonight, it might be as an audition for other teams.
All of the running backs on the team other than Clinton Portis, and in my opinion Larry Johnson, are playing for positions. Rookie Keiland Williams, first year man Ryan Torain and veteran Willie Parker are all on the bubble and must shine in any given opportunity. Williams has done well for himself so far by leading the group with five catches for 68 yards this preseason and three decent returns. If he can separate himself even more by excelling on special teams or do some pass catching out of the backfield, he might secure himself a spot. But Torain has also played on special teams and as a return specialist so there is definitely competition there. Willie Paker’s mindset is that he is working for a job so expect to see him play hard.
The wide receiver group is still up in the air and Shanahan will be watching closely tonight. Santana Moss will no doubt be the starter for the team but third year man Devin Thomas is, once again, having to prove he deserves a roster spot. He is fighting with a host of other players, listed alphabetically for lack of any other way; Anthony Armstrong, Terrence Austin, Brandon Banks, Joey Galloway, Shay Hodge, Bobby Wade and Roydell Williams.
Armstrong has done as much as a guy can do to show he can play in the NFL. He spent the first two years of his career on practice squads, first with the Miami Dolphins who drafted him and last year with Washington. This year he has not only worked hard and caught most everything thrown his way in camps and practice but has had seven receptions for 101 yards – this averages out to 14.4 yards per catch – and one touchdown so far this preseason. His longest was 45 yards against the Baltimore Ravens on a pass from McNabb into some decent coverage.
Austin has five carries for 52 yards this preseason. His longest catch is 17 yards but he has returned punts and, with the return specialists job still up in the air, that works in his favor.
Brandon Banks is an anomaly and has become a favorite because of his sheer determination in light of his 5’7″, 150 lbs.-soaking-wet frame. He has one 77-yard punt return against the Bills taken in for a touchdown but it is offset by a couple of muffed punts. He is speedy and can be explosive but there is a lot of competition on the team.
Galloway is a proven receiver that brings experience and talent to the team but with it, age. In the league since 1995, Galloway has been playing 15 years. You wouldn’t know it from watching him though. He is in great shape and, throughout his career, has played in 188 games with 689 receptions for 10,777 yards and an average of 15.6 per reception. Galloway has made 77 touchdowns in his career. And get this… out of those 689 receptions? Galloway has six… count ‘em… six fumbles…. That’s one fumble every 114 catches. The man has pretty good hands.
Shanahan will probably keep five or six receivers on the roster. With Malcolm Kelly now on Injured Reserve, the roster might look something like Moss, Armstrong and Galloway as straight receivers; and Thomas and Austin on board to return punts or kick-offs as well. There could be one other wide out kept. Therein lies the competition between Banks – who also can return but needs to hold on to the ball – Hodge, Wade and Roydell Williams.
There is competition still in the secondary where Kevin Barnes, Justin Tryon and Ramzee Robinson are fighting. Buchanon is listed behind starting cornerback Carlos Rogers on the depth chart and has an edge because he can return balls on special teams. Justin Tryon actually made ESPN’s Football Outsiders Top Ten List earlier in the off-season and defensive backs coach Bob Slowik has praised him in practice. We just haven’t heard many of these guys’ names during these preseason games. Tryon has four solo tackles so far with one assisted, Barnes has one more than that, Robinson has one tackle.
On the defensive line Jeremy Jarmon in particular needs to have a good game tonight. In his defense, it’s a been a confusing off-season for him. Not only is he learning a new system, he is continuing to get back into shape after an ACL injury and subsequent surgery. He was prepared to make the transition to linebacker and then was told he was not one of the players required to do so. He even lost 30 lbs. in anticipation of the switch and then had to gain it back. It helped that he logged a sack last week but he has work to do to compete with Vonnie Holliday and Kedric Golston.
The return specialist position is still not set and the competition there is extensive. The depth chart lists Phillip Buchanon, Brandon Banks and Terrence Austin, in that order, as punt returners; and Devin Thomas, Keiland Williams, Terrence Austin and Brandon Banks in that order as kick returners. Since all have returned balls in the last three games so far, the coaches will look hard at these players tonight and will later need to consider averages (Williams has averaged 23.7 yards on his three returns), fumbles (Banks has two) and other positions that can be played.
Shanahan has said that his starting offensive line might see some playing time tonight but beyond that, if any other starters play, it won’t be for long. The position battles need to be sorted out with the roster cut deadline only two days away but Shanahan will make sure he gets to see what he needs to see. The combinations of players that might be seen out on the field tonight will likely stagger the mind.