Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Need to know: Minnifield goes to Redskins IR

Here is what you need to know going into Thursday, the first day of training camp:

Roster moves

ESPN 980 is reporting that Chase Minnifield was not claimed on waivers and that he reverts to the Redskins injured reserve list. His career will be put on hold for a year and there is a good chance we will see what he can do in 2013.

Also per ESPN 980, the Redskins also waived offensive tackle Nevin McCaskill and signed rookie running back Dorson Boyce of the University of Washington.

Camp today

Although it’s officially training camp, the first couple of days will essentially be an extension of minicamp in that the players will be in helmets and shorts. That’s because the CBA prohibits pads from being worn for the first two days of camp.

That means that the focus will be more on the quarterbacks, receivers, and cornerbacks as you can’t tell much about the lineman without pads. They should go on Saturday although Mike Shanahan could opt to wait and not put them in pads until next week.

In case you missed it

Yesterday, we were not all RG3 all the time. We had articles on who might benefit with Minnifield being out of the picture and Ryan Kerrigan. But, yes, we did have full coverage of the Redskins new quarterbacks with a look at his fantasy value, his comments on focusing on football, and his long-distance exchange of comments with Osi.

Come and talk about it

We’re having a chat in between practices today we’ll get it going at 1:00 and run until about 2:00. It’s your chat and we can talk about whatever you want. We will also take questions in advance and on Twitter in case you can’t make it. Check back here this morning.

What do you want to know about this morning? Tell us in the comments!

Days until: Preseason opener vs. Bills 14; RG3 vs. Luck @FedEx Field 30; final cuts 37; Redskins @ Saints 45; home opener vs. Bengals 59

Quick hits: RG3 takes the podium today as veterans report

Some quick items to get your Wednesday morning going:

Shanahan vs. ?? on Sept. 9

The Redskins open the season in New Orleans in 46 days and the Saints still don’t know who will be their head coach for that game, or for any of the first six games on their schedule. Interim head coach Joe Vitt, who is filling in for the suspended Sean Payton, will start a six-game suspension himself starting a week before their game against the Redskins.

Vitt said yesterday that the identity of the interim interim head coach has yet to be determined.

“The discussions have taken place,” Vitt said. “They are in the infantile stages right now.”

They might want to get that figured out pretty soon.

A hot one to start out training camp tomorrow

The high temperature for tomorrow, the first day of camp practice, is forecast to be 99. The players will be glad that they are not going to be wearing pads until Saturday.

The news is not that it will be hot in late July. It’s that next week it should be relatively comfortable, with temperatures not forecast to climb past the upper 80’s. If that holds, that’s a pretty good string of training camp weather.

RG3 on the podium today

Media access to Robert Griffin III will be somewhat limited during training camp and, presumably, into the regular season. Limiting access to the quarterback is normal procedure around the league these days. If it’s not restricted a high-profile QB could answer media questions for hours a day. That time is better spent in the film room.

We get one of our opportunities to talk to RG3 today as will take the podium at 5:30. It will be his first new conference with the beat reporters since minicamp in mid June. We’ll ask what he did during his summer vacation and see if we can get any insight into what went on during the rookie phase of training camp. And we’ll get his thoughts on the next “first” coming up for him, his first NFL training camp practice.

Reporting day

The Redskins report to Redskins Park today to check in and take physicals. The first practice will be tomorrow at 10:40 a.m. That one is a walkthrough that is closed to the public. Gates open at 1:00 for fans with the full practice getting underway at 3:00. Be advised that the CBA prohibits players from wearing pads during the first two days of practice so they will be in shorts and helmets on Thursday and Friday.

We’ll be doing a chat in between practices at Redskins Park from 1 to 2, check back here tomorrow morning to find out where to go.

Days until: Training camp 1; preseason opener @ Bills 15; RG3 vs. Luck @FedEx Field 31; final cuts 38; Redskins @ Saints 46; home opener vs. Bengals 60

 

Quick hits: DE battle over before it starts?

Some quick hits to start off you Tuesday morning:

—We’re going to have our camp preview on the defensive line and linebackers coming later today. I will say right now, though, that I’m not sure that a battle for the starting right defensive end job, something I’ve been previewing here much of the offseason, will take place. I think that Adam Carriker will start and Jarvis Jenkins will come off of the bench. That isn’t necessarily because Carriker is better than Jenkins. I just think that they believe they will be able to take advantage of Jenkins’ versatility better if he’s not starting.

—So Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com picked a score every NFL game for the coming season and he came up with a 3-13 record for the Redskins. As my friend @BurgundyBlog pointed out, Prisco has the Redskins scoring no more than 21 points in any game. They managed over 21 seven times in 2011. While rookie quarterbacks can be inconsistent, it’s difficult to see their offensive productivity plummeting with Robert Griffin III taking over for the 2011 Rex/Beck disaster.

—Training camp starts the day after tomorrow but if you plan on coming out be advised that they will not be wearing pads until Saturday. You can print out your training camp pass right here.

 —In conjunction with the start of camp I’ll be doing a chat on Thursday from 1-2 p.m. We can talk O-line, try to solve the secondary problems and maybe, just maybe, we can talk about that RG3 guy. Check back here for details.

Days until: Training camp 2; preseason opener @ Bills 16; RG3 vs. Luck @FedEx Field 32; final cuts 39; Redskins @ Saints 47; home opener vs. Bengals 61