Jason Taylor‘s knee injury will keep him out of tonight’s preseason finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars and it might keep him out of the season opener in the Meadowlands against the NY Giants. If it does, DE Demetric Evans and DE Erasmus James will step in and try to fill the void. Evans is a versatile lineman who has filled in when injuries struck DE Phillip Daniels and DT Cornelius Griffin, so he can play anywhere along the line. The slimmer James is strictly a defensive end. Expect Evans to be the starter against the Giants if Taylor can’t go, with James replacing him on passing downs [Evans would move inside on those downs]. James is under contract for two seasons and the Redskins gave up only a late-round draft pick to get him so if he can stay healthy and be relatively productive, that trade will have worked out well for Washington.
How did Greg Blache become the Defensive Coordinator of the Washington Redskins? It’s a tale that involves near-retirement, cloak-and-dagger subterfuge, last-second plane rides, and a Berretta shotgun. Mike Wise has the story and it is well worth your team to read it. So do so.
Gregg Williams is no longer the Assistant Head Coach-Defense of the Washington Redskins, but his son Chase is still in the area, playing tight end and linebacker for the Raiders of Loudon County High School. He’s 6’3″ and 235 pounds and colleges are interested.
There are a number of players who are on the bubble right now, hoping to make the final Redskins roster, but having no assurances of it. TB Marcus Mason comes to mind, though he has to be closer to a sure thing than any bubble player in history. Mason went through this last year, after having a good training camp and preseason at a strong position for the Redskins.
“I remember sitting by the phone and just waiting and waiting and waiting,” Mason said. “When the time passed, I called Rock Cartwright and asked him, ‘I didn’t get a call – what does that mean?’ He said, ‘It means your butt better be at practice in the morning.’ I was nervous last year.”
At WR, Billy McMullen appears to have the edge over Anthony Mix, Horace Gant, Maurice Mann for a final roster spot. On the offensive line, bubble players include Justin Geisinger, Andrew Crummey, Todd Wade.
At linebacker, Alfred Fincher, David Holloway, Danny Verdun-Wheeler are all on the bubble, with Fincher perhaps having a slight edge at this point.
“It is something that I don’t think a lot of people really understand,” Fincher said. “This is your life on the line. It is not just a job – it is your life. If you get cut, yeah, you might have an opportunity somewhere else, but there might be a chance this could be it. It is tough. It could be the last day of you playing the game that you love [and] that you’ve played your whole life.”
At cornerback, Shawn Springs, Fred Smoot and Carlos Rogers will have jobs. Leigh Torrance, Justin Tryon and Matteral Richardson look like they are likely to make the team. That probably leaves Byron Westbrook and Cedric Holt on the outside looking in. Laron Landry, Reed Doughty, Kareem More, and Chris Horton will make the team as safeties. Justin Hamilton might make the team, Patrick Ghee probably will not.
Finally, the punting position is still up in the air. Both incumbent Derrick Frost and draft pick Durant Brooks will punt tonight, with the job presumably going to whichever punts the best.
Veteran Redskins beat reporter Paul Woody takes a look at the 2008 Redskins and draws a few conclusions. You’ll be smarter after you read what he’s written for this morning.
Discuss this in Redskins Park with other DC sports fans!
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