Camp Buzz — July 20, 2008
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by
Robert Janis
Today marked the first day of Redskins’ training camp for 2008. And the buzz concerned a couple of injuries and the quick acquisition in response.
The Redskins lost two defensive ends to injury — Phillip Daniels and Alex Busbee. According to Head Coach Jim Zorn, both were non-contact injuries. Both could be out for the season.
Zorn said that Daniels “… was so ready. He did everything that he could possibly do to not only have a great training camp, but an excellent football season.”
Erasmus James who was acquired earlier this year is not ready to play. Zorn said that he won’t be able to practice with reps in team drills until August. And he doesn’t expect him to play until the last couple of pre-season game.
The loss of Daniels had an impact on the team. Marcus Washington said, “It is tough and really unfortunate. We know how hard he worked in the offseason and how much a part of this team he is, especially on the defensive side.”
Cornelius Griffin said, “You can’t replace a leader and a veteran that knows the game, knows how to work, and knows how to be accountable.”
Clinton Portis said, “It is tough. Phillip Daniels was one of our best defenders and a leader on this team. He went down the first play after all the hard work he put in during the offseason and knowing that he was going to be a vital part to this team’s success. All of a sudden you lose him on the first play and it is hard.
But within hours after the injury to Daniels, the Redskins had a new defensive end to replace him. The Skins obtained Jason Taylor from the Miami Dolphins for a second round draft choice in 2009 and a sixth round draft choice in 2010.
There is some apprehension that Taylor will play for just one year. But Vinny Cerrato said that he was “100 percent confident he will play for more than one year.”
The negotiations for the deal were so quick it could of set a record for the fastest deal in NFL history. Because things went down so fast, I believe that the Skins and the Dolphins were talking deal sometime in the not to distant past and set the foundation for a deal then.
However they got him, it appears that we got a great replacement. Jason Taylor has played in six Pro Bowls and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. I think I can say that we were lucky he was still available.
Meanwhile, it is still expected that Demetric Evans will still be playing a more major role. Evans is the defensive end that was behind Daniels in the depth charts. Zorn said that he will have to be a good run stopper and continue to learn to pass rush to help give stability to the position. “I expect to slot him in and out,” said Zorn.
