For the second-consecutive practice, the Redskins took the field this afternoon in full upper-body pads, bringing a renewed physical undertone to a competitive practice.
During full-team drills, inside linebacker London Fletcher could be heard above the din, shouting out adjustment to his teammates based on the offensive motions along the line.
It was part of a dominant practice for Fletcher, who won all of his matchup battles in running back pass protection drills early, before showing his ball skills later in practice. More on that later.
Rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III showed off his arm and legs today, weathering creative pass rush packages and twice winning foot races to the end zone.
After cutting through the defensive line and beating the defensive backs to the pylon on a red zone drill, he flipped the ball to defensive backs coach Raheem Morris, who laughed and continued talking smack to Griffin III.
Griffin III faked a handoff on the next play and ran for another touchdown.
The defense suffered from bad luck on a few 11-on-11 plays, as both linebacker Bryan Kehl and safety Reed Doughty tipped passes away from their intended receivers, only to have them caught by other receivers.
The defense didn't miss on two other plays, however, as the linebacker corps came up big on the offensive drives that capped off practice.
In the first drive, quarterback Kirk Cousins lasted only two plays against the starting defense. On the first play, he handed off to Alfred Morris, who ran up the middle for six yards. On the next snap, he stared down his tight end over the middle and fired it right into Fletcher's gut for the interception. Fletcher ran 30 yards for the touchdown, before spiking the ball and celebrating with teammates and fans.
In the next drive scenario, Griffin III sustained a 10-plus play drive down the field, knocking on the defense's doorstep at the 10-yard line. Griffin III dropped back to pass on second down, and fired the ball to tight end Chris Cooley, who was stood up and stripped by linebacker Bryan Kehl at the 2-yard line.
Kehl picked the ball up and followed his blocks down the sidelines toward the end zone. From across the field, quarterback Griffin III chased him down, pushing him out of bounds inside the opposing 5-yard line.
It was an admittedly unnecessary gesture to chase Kehl down, but head coach Mike Shanahan said after the fact that he likes the pride that Griffin III practices with, and didn't mind it as long as Griffin III didn't get hurt.
The Redskins have ended practice every day with three drives, one each led by Griffin III, Rex Grossman and Cousins. The defense has only yielded one touchdown in 12 tries--a 50-yard touchdown from Grossman to Aldrick Robinson last week.
Redskins roster and injury news to follow.
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