Key Battle Looms for WR's
 

Washington Post Newsletter

The competition between Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey for the starting quarterback job of the Washington Redskins has been the biggest story so far in training camp.

But the battle for playing time among a host of talented receivers is also shaping up to be a key one.

Laveranues Coles is the firm No. 1, although his nagging toe injury could became a factor in the regular season. Rod Gardner is penciled in as the other starter, although Darnerien McCants performed well in Saturday's preseason game and is coming on strong.

"I think it's hard fought in there," Coach [url="http://65.54.187.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=325d7b3acdd009e60dac32e1b168365c&lat=1092938659&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fletters%2ewashingtonpost%2ecom%2fW7RH0453773085865884F3FB249F10"][color=#0000ff]Joe Gibbs[/color][/url] said of the receiver position. "That will be one of the real competitive spots on our football team."

James Thrash was signed to be the third receiver, and his work ethic and attitude are loved by the coaches.

Injuries have caused problems for virtually all the receivers. Thrash missed a practice with a hamstring problem but has generally been healthy. Taylor Jacobs, a second round pick in 2003, missed much of the early part of training camp, returned for a few days and then suffered an abdominal strain Tuesday before returning Wednesday.

"Taylor was having an unbelievable camp," Gibbs said. "And then the injury really set him back."

Cliff Russell, a third round pick in 2002 who is fighting Jacobs for one of the final receiver spots on the roster, has barely played in camp due to a hamstring injury and remains out. McCants and Gardner also came down with injuries during a physical practice Tuesday morning. McCants has a sprained knee and ankle and missed Wednesday's practice. Gardner hurt his finger and shoulder but did practice.

Coles was explosive in the [url="http://65.54.187.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=154f85818f8cd281961088fd84264e64&lat=1092938659&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fletters%2ewashingtonpost%2ecom%2fW7RH04537790B5865884F3FB249F10"][color=#0000ff]last game[/color][/url] against Carolina, and is the only receiver to connect with Ramsey to this point, as the incumbent starting quarterback has struggled. Gardner has had a quiet preseason, catching one ball for eight yards, while McCants took advantage of Carolina's second-team defense in the second half Saturday, catching two passes for 78 yards including a beautiful 61-yard touchdown reception from Brunell. McCants leads the team with five catches in the preseason.

"From my second year compared to my third [last season], it wasn't nowhere close," Gardner said. "And this year I'm trying to recapture that and bring it back. . . . I'm trying to get my mind right and focus my mind."

With a new coaching staff in place, there is abundant opportunity to move up and earn more playing time. Gardner wants to improve his game after slipping last season and is expected to start again against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday with Brunell opening the game at quarterback.

Gibbs is known for selecting undrafted free agents for his final roster, and Gari Scott, who played at Michigan State, has been the best of the group of unheralded receivers in camp, making several nice catches and performing well returning kicks against the Panthers last Saturday night.

The first NFL cutdown date is Aug. 31, and Gibbs has hinted that he is looking for durability from his players and a willingness to play through minor injuries. Unless the health of some receivers improves there could be a few surprising releases at that spot by the end of the month.

[i]By Jason La Canfora[/i]

very good insight

well, cliff is gone for sure...

yea scott is probably ahead of russel at this point.

i bet Scott is definently ahead of russel and jacobs, and both will be cut.

I hope Gardner has a break out year, so we can trade him and hopefully get back the our second round pick which we foolishly traded away for Cooley.

why not just hope Cooley has a breakout year too then?

you watched cooley in the preseason games so far right? I think it was a good tradeoff between have a te like cooley that can block and pass NOW then hoping for a better one next year.

and jacobs impresses when healthy, though he hasn't shown up for a game yet... i doubt he'll get cut though, he's like betts... too much potential to just throw away... but they've both been off the field an awful lot.

Is Coles finished for the season or possibly his career?
 

I heard Coles was seriously injured and if he were to have another operation it could end his career? Did anyone hear about this on ESPN?

Gari Scott is the most consistent new receiver we have right know. This will be McCants probowl season if he stays healthy. I always liked James Thrash and always heard how good Cliff Russell was in practice. His workout regimen must be seriouswith that many injuries in practice.

No. Can't find that one anywhere... where did you hear it?

[QUOTE=SUNRA]I heard Coles was seriously injured and if he were to have another operation it could end his career? Did anyone hear about this on ESPN?[/QUOTE]

A guy at work who's a big listener to espn radio in the morning mentioned it to me. I hope he's wrong.

Sounds like it was Lavar and not Coles.

[QUOTE=SUNRA]I heard Coles was seriously injured and if he were to have another operation it could end his career? Did anyone hear about this on ESPN?[/QUOTE]

I thought that was about the toe injury with Coles which iswhy he oppted not to go for surjury because there was a risk it could have career ending implications.

Originally Posted by SUNRA
I heard Coles was seriously injured and if he were to have another operation it could end his career? Did anyone hear about this on ESPN?

how many surguries have coles or lavar had that it could be either oen of them

Coles hasn't opted for surgery on the toe becuase if it goes wrong, it could end his career. But the injury is not new, it's the same toe thing he's been battling since last year, unless something totally new has occurred. But I read that "career ending" claim somewhere on the News wire on the WP.

Lavar is a "class one sprain" of the knee and he's suppossed to be back in practice Monday, according to the Post. I'm not sure what a "class one sprain" is, but let's hope it's somthing that heals quickly!

as a general rule of thumb, sprains heal quickly, breaks don't...

LaVar has the "best" kind of sprain you could hope for, here are the 3 degrees of sprains.

-a first degree sprain is damage to only a few ligament fibres

-a second degree sprain is damage to a more extensive number of ligament fibres, but the ligament remains intact

-a third degree sprain is a complete rupture of the ligament

That's not always true... sometimes a clean break would be preferred because they generally heal in 8 weeks. Effects of the dreaded "high ankle sprain" could linger the whole year.

[QUOTE=That Guy]as a general rule of thumb, sprains heal quickly, breaks don't...[/QUOTE]

a clean ligament rupture can heal in 8 weeks? no way. what exactly is the dreaded 'high ankle sprain' anyway. does the it mean high up the ankle or sumthing else?

hey Matty. how'bout a Warpath injury tracker?

Excuse me... I thought you were referring to a broken bone... not a torn or ruptured ligament. I've never heard a ligament referred to as broken.


[QUOTE=illdefined]a clean ligament rupture can heal in 8 weeks? no way. what exactly is the dreaded 'high ankle sprain' anyway. does the it mean high up the ankle or sumthing else?

hey Matty. how'bout a Warpath injury tracker?[/QUOTE]

I might put some sort of injury tracker up but I'll wait til the regular season. Right now the list is a mile long.

yeah sprains are strictly ligament injuries if i'm not mistaken. bones get bruised and fractured

it'd be kinda cool to calender it out though, keep a chart of the million injuries over time etc...

I feel very sorry for Cliff Russell... his rookie season ended before it even began, and then he was never really considered for any position other than the #4 WR

Somebody should start a Cliff Russel fan club.

an injury calendar with expected return times would be sick. thats hardcore. so much work tho, but we'd just need the starters...

yeah, but i figure you'd get a better idea of standard/average times out, commonality of injuries, total missed playing time per player heh... may be time for some java scripting...

seriously, where are you all hearing this career ending injury stuff, its not anywhere, if it were, it would be all over the internet.

I think it's time to sit Coles for the preseason. Seriously, we know what he's capable of. Besides, that will give the QBs more time to adjust and develop chemistry with the other receivers.

I read the same thing Canes and Sleep did about the career-ending possibility of Coles' surgery. But I read FB info from a ton of sources, and don't recall where I saw it.

[QUOTE=BrunellFan]I feel very sorry for Cliff Russell... his rookie season ended before it even began, and then he was never really considered for any position other than the #4 WR

Somebody should start a Cliff Russel fan club.[/QUOTE]

The same thing could be said about Taylor Jacobs and Ladell Betts. These guys have a ton of talent, but seem to keep sustaining injuries in practice or preseason games. I guess there has to be an evaluation of how they approach their stretching exercises because when I visited camp some players were not stretching long enough if you ask me.

i bet diet and the work out routine is part of it too... TJ and LB have played some though, cliff really hasn't been heard from in a while, not that i disagree though. Those guys need to show up.

i havent even seen cliffy on the sidelines

[QUOTE=oldswill]i bet Scott is definently ahead of russel and jacobs, and both will be cut.[/QUOTE]


I don't see Jacob's being cut, Gibb's used the word unbelievable, in a positive way about Jacob's camp, up until he was hurt.

potential doesn't earn you playing time, but it does give you a bigger safety net from being cut...

I think potential goes along way with Gibbs. He's definitely one who can turn that potential into something positive.

All the potential in the world doesnt mean jack if you cant get out on the field.Nobody cares about who has the most potential in the re-hab room.

right, but cause of what they've seen of betts and jacobs, they're going to give them a longer period of time to show up than they would with most undrafted rookies...

Russell will be on the first cut list

we cant just cut taylor, a 2nd rounder who was projected as a 1st, one season after he was drafted, cuz he had a ruptured spleen. this guy looked pretty good so far. the TD catch last year was nice