Washington Redskins Training Camp 2014: Three Things to Know Today

Number One:

How is Robert Griffin III progressing?  RGIII is still only 24 years old.  I think we forget that sometimes.  He's only entering his third season as a pro and obviously still has a lot to learn.  With all that in mind, we also must consider that he's learning a brand new offense.  There's going to be a lot of learning during this training camp for RGIII, both just because he's a young QB entering his third year and also because of the brand new offense.  His training camp so far has been up and down and with the weather being dry and relatively comfortable (~89 degrees), we should look for Robert to have a good day of practice.  He needs to continue to improve his passing and remain in the pocket, working on his ability to read the defense and let plays develop.  This will give Robert every chance to deliver a good pass before so quickly shifting to tucking the football and running.  I want to hear reports today about RGIII making quick passes from the pocket and not running the ball.

Number Two:

Who's stepping up at OLB?  The Redskins made a somewhat surprising first cut of camp by releasing second-year OLB Brandon Jenkins yesterday.  Jenkins didn't have a great Spring and was having a slow start to camp.  He was visibly struggling the past couple of practices and I guess the coaches had seen enough.  Coming into camp, quite a few people believed Jenkins had a very real chance of making the team, so his departure opens things up quite a bit for a few players.  Rob Jackson, Adrian Robinson, and Gabe Miller all have a newfound opportunity to step up and possibly secure a spot on the team.  Most people naturally assume this is good news for Rob Jackson, but he's been a bit quiet since camp started.  On the other hand, Adrian Robinson has been really impressing coaches over the past few days.  It'll be fun to watch these guys play with new confidence that they actually have a real shot.  Additionally, the team has brought in OLB Everette Brown to take that 90th roster spot and he has some NFL experience.  Orakpo, Kerrigan, and Murphy are all locks at OLB, but the team is almost guaranteed to keep at least 1-2 other OLB's.  Who will it be?  The competition should heat up starting today.

Number Three:

Cody Hoffman is on my mind today.  From everything I've read and seen of camp so far, he's been impressive, especially for an UDFA rookie.  We all know about the great size (6'4", 210 lbs.) and the productive college career (BYU record holder in TD receptions in a game - 5, all-time receptions - 248, all-time TD receptions - 33, and all-time receiving yards - 3,445), but what can he do for the Redskins as we approach the 2014 season?  So far in camp, he's shown great hands and an ability to snatch the ball out of the air with a wide catching radius.  He could prove to be very valuable in the red-zone, especially for a team lacking a lot of height at the receiver positions.  In my opinion, Garcon, Jackson, Roberts, Moss, and Grant are all going to make the team.  I think they're likely to keep a sixth WR and I think Hoffman has as good a chance as anyone else.  It's well documented that Gruden seems to like tall WR's and played many during his time with the Bengals.  Does that help Hoffman's case?  The only other Redskins WR with height even close to Hoffman is Leonard Hankerson and he's not fully recovered from a knee injury, yet.  Hoffman has looked very good in camp and I'm looking to see that continue happening on a consistent basis moving forward in camp.  I especially want to see him in more red-zone work and watch the tall WR bring in some TD passes.  If his knack in this area keeps up over camp, he may very well be that sixth WR.