I'm impressed with the responses Mike Shanahan gives to the media.
Not only are most of his responses insightful, they aren't words that ramble or appear unsure. They come from a coach with experience. They're direct, intelligent, and are almost answered in a way as not to appease. It's a noticeable difference over last year.
Check out the remarks Shanahan gave today on a bevy of questions about the team, workouts, and of course old #92.
On the current wide receivers:
"We have a lot of people out here competing for a position. I don't want to isolate anybody out at this time because we have a lot of people out there competing. Santana Moss is really the only guy that we've got that is a proven veteran that has played week in and week out. Everybody else right now is competing. We have some players who have played in the NFL and have a lot of experience, so it should be interesting this preseason to see the competition."
On his comfort level with the wide receiver position:
"Well, to give you a story, when I was in Denver and all of a sudden we had a guy, Mike Pritchard, who was the number one draft choice, with Anthony Miller. We released those guys and we went with younger guys like Rod Smith and obviously the rest is history. So you really don't know which guys, young guys, will step up. We have some talent out there. It will be interesting to see these guys fight, but I really don't know at this time. It’s a day-to-day evaluation process. We really don't care what guys have done in the past. It's what they do out here in practice everyday and how they compete. We'll get a chance to evaluate them not only in practice but these preseason games and hopefully come up with the best 53 [players].”
On offensive tackle Trent Williams’ progress:
"The thing that I've really been pleased about with him, he's been going at two-a-days for what feels like the last year. With the injury to his knee and the way he has rehabbed, he is just doing everything he can and he has looked good with the first unit. We got a lot of competition at a lot of different positions. Nothing needs to be decided here for the next week or two, but it's going to take a number of weeks to find out who our best 53 is. We have some competition and that's what we've been aiming for when we first got started and I think we've got that at this time."
Talking the quarterback position.
On the competition for the third quarterback position between Colt Brennan and Richard Bartel:
“Everybody talks about number three, but there is competition. We have four guys right from the beginning who are battling. I like to see guys evaluate themselves each day against our number one guy, and obviously that is Donovan [McNabb]. But, they go out there to prove themselves and that is what you are looking for. You look for guys who look at that number one guy, evaluate the position and the quarterback position is no different than any other position. They have both been splitting reps and both have been doing a good job.”
On if he prefers carrying three quarterbacks during the regular season:
“Yes, I think it is good to have three quarterbacks if you feel that guy deserves to be on your football team. Number one, you never have enough quarterbacks and if you lose somebody, it’s hard to find a person that can come in and run your system because it takes too long. So that’s why you try to protect them and have four or sometimes five guys that know your system. Once you lose a guy or two, regardless of how good the quarterback is, it takes time to learn the new system.
On if there is any position player that can serve in an emergency if he carries only two quarterbacks:
“Most of my career I have been with two, since I have been in the NFL, and you have guys that are ready to take a snap.”
Talkin' #92
On the decision for defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth not take a conditioning test Saturday morning:
"Albert came in this morning quite early. His knee was irritated. The recommendation from the doctors was to have him not run. He did the bike and got some treatment, so hopefully that subsides and he can get back in to football shape."
On if he was happy Albert Haynesworth has not given up:
"My job is to make sure that when he does finally practice, he is in football shape. What he is doing right now, which you saw this morning, is get about 10 minutes of walkthroughs, getting used to our terminology. This afternoon he will be out there for about an hour just watching our players go through their responsibilities. I call it a walkthrough. It's more of a jog through.
On if Albert Haynesworth's injury is new:
"New things pop up all the time."
On if Albert Haynesworth will take the conditioning test tomorrow:
"I don't know, it all depends on how his knee is and how he is feeling. I never said he had to the take test every day. We want him to get in to football shape and when he feels ready to pass the test, we will let him take it and if he passes it then we will let you practice."
On if Albert Haynesworth is behind schedule:
"I just covered that with the walkthroughs. He is getting mental reps."
On Albert Haynesworth observing practice and taking time to get mental reps:
"You’ve got meetings in the afternoon, you have meetings in the evenings, you have about three or four hours of meetings, going through all those mental reps and working at practice. He is getting a chance to see what we are doing in the classroom and on the football field. After he has been working out, he has been out there with [Defensive Coordinator] Jim [Haslett] and [Defensive Line Coach] Jacob [Burney] for about a half-hour after the morning practice and after the afternoon practice. Even though he isn't out there in pads, he's still getting a lot of work in."
The Redskins' website reports that Haynesworth did not run his conditioning drill on Sunday morning, making today the fourth consecutive practice he's missed, excluding the afternoon walk-throughs, and second consecutive day he has been unable to run the conditioning test.
As coach Shanahan stated, Haynesworth was bothered by a knee injury on Saturday and was advised by team doctors not to continue with the conditioning test at this time.
Apparently, there is no timetable for Haynesworth to take the test.
"He will get a chance to be out with his teammates once he passes the test", said Shanahan.
"It is in his best interest. He has to get in to football shape. There's a setback already, his knee is a little bit swollen. Hopefully it's not too bad where he can keep on conditioning and be out with the team in the near future."
Not only are most of his responses insightful, they aren't words that ramble or appear unsure. They come from a coach with experience. They're direct, intelligent, and are almost answered in a way as not to appease. It's a noticeable difference over last year.
Check out the remarks Shanahan gave today on a bevy of questions about the team, workouts, and of course old #92.
On the current wide receivers:
"We have a lot of people out here competing for a position. I don't want to isolate anybody out at this time because we have a lot of people out there competing. Santana Moss is really the only guy that we've got that is a proven veteran that has played week in and week out. Everybody else right now is competing. We have some players who have played in the NFL and have a lot of experience, so it should be interesting this preseason to see the competition."
On his comfort level with the wide receiver position:
"Well, to give you a story, when I was in Denver and all of a sudden we had a guy, Mike Pritchard, who was the number one draft choice, with Anthony Miller. We released those guys and we went with younger guys like Rod Smith and obviously the rest is history. So you really don't know which guys, young guys, will step up. We have some talent out there. It will be interesting to see these guys fight, but I really don't know at this time. It’s a day-to-day evaluation process. We really don't care what guys have done in the past. It's what they do out here in practice everyday and how they compete. We'll get a chance to evaluate them not only in practice but these preseason games and hopefully come up with the best 53 [players].”
On offensive tackle Trent Williams’ progress:
"The thing that I've really been pleased about with him, he's been going at two-a-days for what feels like the last year. With the injury to his knee and the way he has rehabbed, he is just doing everything he can and he has looked good with the first unit. We got a lot of competition at a lot of different positions. Nothing needs to be decided here for the next week or two, but it's going to take a number of weeks to find out who our best 53 is. We have some competition and that's what we've been aiming for when we first got started and I think we've got that at this time."
Talking the quarterback position.
On the competition for the third quarterback position between Colt Brennan and Richard Bartel:
“Everybody talks about number three, but there is competition. We have four guys right from the beginning who are battling. I like to see guys evaluate themselves each day against our number one guy, and obviously that is Donovan [McNabb]. But, they go out there to prove themselves and that is what you are looking for. You look for guys who look at that number one guy, evaluate the position and the quarterback position is no different than any other position. They have both been splitting reps and both have been doing a good job.”
On if he prefers carrying three quarterbacks during the regular season:
“Yes, I think it is good to have three quarterbacks if you feel that guy deserves to be on your football team. Number one, you never have enough quarterbacks and if you lose somebody, it’s hard to find a person that can come in and run your system because it takes too long. So that’s why you try to protect them and have four or sometimes five guys that know your system. Once you lose a guy or two, regardless of how good the quarterback is, it takes time to learn the new system.
On if there is any position player that can serve in an emergency if he carries only two quarterbacks:
“Most of my career I have been with two, since I have been in the NFL, and you have guys that are ready to take a snap.”
Talkin' #92
On the decision for defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth not take a conditioning test Saturday morning:
"Albert came in this morning quite early. His knee was irritated. The recommendation from the doctors was to have him not run. He did the bike and got some treatment, so hopefully that subsides and he can get back in to football shape."
On if he was happy Albert Haynesworth has not given up:
"My job is to make sure that when he does finally practice, he is in football shape. What he is doing right now, which you saw this morning, is get about 10 minutes of walkthroughs, getting used to our terminology. This afternoon he will be out there for about an hour just watching our players go through their responsibilities. I call it a walkthrough. It's more of a jog through.
On if Albert Haynesworth's injury is new:
"New things pop up all the time."
On if Albert Haynesworth will take the conditioning test tomorrow:
"I don't know, it all depends on how his knee is and how he is feeling. I never said he had to the take test every day. We want him to get in to football shape and when he feels ready to pass the test, we will let him take it and if he passes it then we will let you practice."
On if Albert Haynesworth is behind schedule:
"I just covered that with the walkthroughs. He is getting mental reps."
On Albert Haynesworth observing practice and taking time to get mental reps:
"You’ve got meetings in the afternoon, you have meetings in the evenings, you have about three or four hours of meetings, going through all those mental reps and working at practice. He is getting a chance to see what we are doing in the classroom and on the football field. After he has been working out, he has been out there with [Defensive Coordinator] Jim [Haslett] and [Defensive Line Coach] Jacob [Burney] for about a half-hour after the morning practice and after the afternoon practice. Even though he isn't out there in pads, he's still getting a lot of work in."
The Redskins' website reports that Haynesworth did not run his conditioning drill on Sunday morning, making today the fourth consecutive practice he's missed, excluding the afternoon walk-throughs, and second consecutive day he has been unable to run the conditioning test.
As coach Shanahan stated, Haynesworth was bothered by a knee injury on Saturday and was advised by team doctors not to continue with the conditioning test at this time.
Apparently, there is no timetable for Haynesworth to take the test.
"He will get a chance to be out with his teammates once he passes the test", said Shanahan.
"It is in his best interest. He has to get in to football shape. There's a setback already, his knee is a little bit swollen. Hopefully it's not too bad where he can keep on conditioning and be out with the team in the near future."
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