The practice this morning was a very light session lasting about an hour.  The players were in baseball caps, shorts, and shirts, so any expectation of real action was tossed out the window the minute they walked out of the stadium. 

The players that did not participate in the drills this morning included Jerry Porter (on sideline with the bulky ice bags in tow), Jeremy Mincey, George Wrighster, Chad Nkang, Brad Meester, Reggie Williams, and Derrick Harvey.

The one interesting thing to note is that the rookie barbershop was open for business, and several of the newbies on the roster were sporting new hairstyles as they took part in practice.  Some were more creative than others, but all were rather entertaining. 

Quentin Groves had one of the more unique styles.  Someone took the time to cut a spiral in his hair that encompassed his entire head. 

Theo Horrocks was also given a pretty special cut, having rings shaved around the circumference of his noggin. 

Thomas Williams was sporting an off-centered Mohawk. 

Alex Boston had racing stripes cut into his hair. 

Several of the rookies were given the “old man” cut where they had the entire tops of their heads shaved and the sides and backs were left alone.  It was certainly good fun for the team, and entertaining for the fans to see. 

Now, let’s get to the drills.

(More behind the fold)

11 x 11 (Hurry Up):

The team worked on their hurry up offense running two plays back to back to work on getting them back to the line as quickly as possible.  It was interesting to watch as the guys would run two plays then rotate to the next unit.

During the drill, Matt Jones made a really nice grab on a deep crossing route.  David Garrard hit him in stride for a big gain.

Garrard came back later in the drill and hit Fred Taylor coming out of the backfield on a screen pass that Fred turned into a big gain.

Greg Jones got a couple of touches at running back, and showed good cutting ability and acceleration.  He appears to be back to the point where he was prior to the last knee injury.  Hopefully he can stay healthy out there because the 1-2-3 punch that this running game could have with him in the rotation would be the best in the league.

Greg Estandia and Cleo Lemon connected on a nice little out pattern that Estandia showed good hands making the play over the top, keeping his feet in-bounds until after he had full control of the pass. 

Chauncey Washington also showed some nice burst up the middle hitting the hole quickly and muscling through for a solid gain on a play that looked to be stuffed at the line.

Cleo Lemon and Mike Walker connected on a deep post pattern that was perfectly timed.  Walker seems to be fully back in stride, showing no ill-effects from the practice the other night where he was falling and hobbling all over the place.  He glides out there when he is running well, and he was gliding in a big way today.

7 x 7:

One interesting note during this drill was that Tutan Reyes was actually rotating in at center along with Dennis Norman, Uche Nwaneri, and Drew Miller. 

For those interested in the defensive depth charts, the linebackers participating in the majority of the snaps as the number one unit included Daryl Smith, Mike Peterson, and Clint Ingram.  In the defensive backfield, Brian Williams and Gerald Sensabaugh continue to split time at Strong Safety with neither one taking the majority of the snaps.

David Garrard connected on a deep sideline route with Mike Walker.  Walker had gotten behind Drayton Florence and Reggie Nelson, and Garrard got the pass over the coverage and into Walker’s hands.  The ball was ever so slightly under thrown, forcing Walker to break stride somewhat. This allowed Nelson and Florence to close the gap quickly, and force him out of bounds.  Had the pass been out in front of Walker, neither defender would have caught Walker on the play. 

Dennis Northcutt continues to have a solid camp, running a quick post pattern out of the slot.  Garrard picked him up about 20 yards down field and nailed him in front of Reggie Nelson, who had gotten over to cover Northcutt, but did not stop the pass.  Had there been contact allowed, Northcutt would have been dropped right there, but the play still went for better than 20 yards.

Reggie Nelson was getting a lot of work in this drill.  On the next play, Garrard hit Greg Jones on a little screen pass.  Nelson flew in from his free safety position to force Jones out on a short gain.  Nelson’s closing speed on the play was extremely impressive.

Dennis Northcutt found a gap in the zone coverage and took a deep corner route to exploit it.  Cleo Lemon spotted him breaking to the hole and dropped the pass right into the gap for Northcutt, splitting Brian Williams and Justin Durant in coverage and converting another big gain for Northcutt. 

Scott Starks made a nice defensive play stepping up to stuff Anthony Cotrone on a little dump off to the right side.  Starks was able to force the much larger Cotrone out of bounds almost immediately after making the catch. 

Clyde Edwards and Todd Bouman connected on a deep sideline pass with Jamaal Fudge in coverage.  Fudge was able to get a piece of Edwards, forcing him out of bounds, but not until after a big gain on the play. 

David Garrard went to Mike Walker over the middle in traffic.  Walker made a great move on his cut to create separation from Brian Iwuh as he went over the middle.  He froze Iwuh with a little hip swivel before making his cut, and got enough separation in traffic to make a nice gain on the play. 

Fred Taylor showed surprisingly soft hands on a pass from Todd Bowman on the sideline.  The ball was over the top, and Taylor maintained his concentration, hauling the pass in from overhead, and then turning it up field getting a few extra yards after the catch despite tight coverage. 

Matt Jones and David Garrard connected on a nice crossing route with Trae Williams in coverage.  Williams was right on Jones, and had him pretty much blanketed.  But, the pass was slightly out in front of Jones, away from coverage, and Matt as able to haul it in and get a few extra yards out of the reception against the smaller rookie.

Daryl Smith made a strong defensive play, coming back on a Marcedes Lewis curl route to bat down a pass from Cleo Lemon. 

Dennis Northcutt burned Gerald Sensabaugh on another curl route.  When Northcutt made his cut, Sensabaugh got caught on his heels.  Dennis then made the grab, and spun away from Sensabaugh to pad the yardage on the pass. 

Todd Bowman hit Troy Williamson going over the middle.  Williamson had to slow up a bit to make the reception, but then kicked in the afterburners as he blew through the secondary taking what would have been a modest gain and turning it into a big one.  His acceleration is almost jaw dropping when he kicks into gear.

David Garrard showed good touch on a deep seam pass targeting Lavarus Giles, who had rolled out wide on the play.  Garrard put the pass over the top of Daryl Smith and Reggie Nelson, and Giles caught the ball in stride, taking it to the end zone.

11 x 11 (Part II):

The team was running plays to get out of the shadow of the end zone during the drill.  Each unit was given an opportunity to get out of the hole and advance. 

On the first play, Fred Taylor carried the ball straight up the middle.  Rob Meier and John Henderson held point and Taylor ran right into the teeth of the defense for a short gain.

On the next play, Garrard tried to go to Troy Williamson on a deep post, but Drayton Florence made a nice defensive play to tip the pass away.

On the final play, David tried to connect with Matt Jones on a quick slant, but the pass was too far out in front of the receiver, and the ball fell incomplete.

The second group started their grouping with a run up the middle by Maurice Jones-Drew.  Tony McDaniel swallowed him up and stopped him at the line of scrimmage.

Greg Jones tried to bounce the ball outside, making a nice cutback on the play.  However, he was unable to get outside, and only got a couple of yards.

Todd Bouman tried to hit Troy Williamson deep down the sideline on an out pattern.  The ball missed Williamson so badly that it actually hit the chain link fence along the sideline.  Williamson never had a shot at making the play.

When the third group stepped in, they did not fare any better.  Fred Taylor carried the ball first, getting a short gain up the middle.

Maurice Jones-Drew tried to bounce one outside again, but was stuffed for no gain.

Lemon rolled out to his right and made an attempt to hit Troy Williamson again on the sideline, and his pass was off target by a yard or so, falling incomplete.

Final Impressions:

They kept it light for the morning session in anticipation of the scrimmage tonight.  The offense was clearly not crisp in the final drills, and Del Rio did speak to them for an extended period at the end of practice.  A lot of guys stuck around to get in some extra work after the session ended.

More later!