Even though they won the NFC East division, in certain respects, 2015 was a nightmare for the Washington Redskins because of the scores of injuries. It is a testament to general manager Scot McCloughan, Head Coach Jay Gruden and the host of assistant coaches and trainers that the team did as well as they did considering the attrition on the roster.
As the Redskins end their first week of training camp, there are several players who have returned to the roster after having spent all or most of 2015 on the Reserve/Injured list: left guard Shawn Lauvao (ankle), middle linebackers Perry Riley, Jr. (foot) and Martrell Spaight (concussion); center Kory Lichtensteiger (neck) and safeties DeAngelo Hall (Achilles) and Duke Ihenacho (wrist).
Fortunately, because these players are all coming back to the same system with the same coaches, they are working themselves back onto the field with obvious success.
Lauvao practiced the first time with the team this past Tuesday. While he was perhaps a little rusty mentally (enough to garner a false start “penalty” during 11-on-11 drills Thursday), he otherwise simply got onto the field and started doing his job at left guard. And for someone out for so long, he handled his business effectively against really large defensive linemen. The Honolulu native almost looked as though he’d not missed a game or practice even though he was injured Week 2 of last season.
Riley is another player who has come back into the lineup and played really well. He has alternated playing time with Mason Foster (who started in Riley’s place last season) as the coaches evaluate his health and sharpness. Like Lauvao, Riley almost looks like he was never out.
Of course, these two guys are veterans and that makes returning to the lineup easier. But what most guys have said is that the fact that they’re in the same system cannot be underestimated when it comes to returning from an injury. For the defensive guys, they’re going into their second year under defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s system. The guys across the line of scrimmage will be going into their third year of Gruden’s offensive system.
“It definitely makes a difference,” Riley said about working himself seamlessly back into the MLB group out on the field. “Especially as a unit. Each individual person learns differently so the more time you’re in a system the more everybody gets familiar with it. Everybody gets on the same page so as a group… as a full 11 out there, guys are moving around a lot faster, we’re having a lot less busts, a lot less missed assignments and as a group we’re doing a lot better overall as far as being in the same defense.”
“When you first learn a defense,” he went on, “in your mind when you hear a call you’re thinking ‘OK… what’s my assignment? What’s that call?’ and then next thing you know the ball is hiked and you’re like, ‘Huh?’ But now we’re in our second year [of DC Joe Barry’s defense] so you hear a call, it’s second nature. You know what you’ve got to communicate to your teammates, what the formation is going to call for because you’re not spending that half-a-second thinking, ‘What’s my assignment again?’”
Gruden has said a couple of times that he is excited about how good guys that have come back from injury look, mentioning especially Spaight, Lauvao, Riley and Ihenacho.
“Shawn is doing good,” the coach said today. “He had his first couple days here and it looked like he never left, really. As far as how he’s feeling, I think he’s still a little rusty a little bit, I think you can tell. He’s got to gain full confidence back in his strength on both feet. Once he does that, he’ll be fine. But as far as mentally, he is zoned in and knows exactly where to go and how to do it. He’d just got to physically know that he is healthy and then react a little bit quicker. He looked good to me. He’s a big, strong kid and in one-on-ones he doesn’t give up any pressure, as usual. And in team work, he’s doing good.”
This is great to hear, especially for the running game which really felt the loss of Lauvao last season. Lauvao himself gives the credit for his fairly seamless return to his unit and his unit’s assistant coach, Bill Callahan.
“For the most part, football is football,” Lauvao said. “Bill is a great teacher and we have a great room so it makes it really easy for me to just get back in where I left off last year. Everybody is close and we know each other and what Coach [Jay Gruden] wants from us so it’s been pretty easy accept for the soreness which is normal.”
Consistency is extremely important in many facets of life, including sports. For Redskins fans, it will be nice for them to finally witness what stability can do for their team.