The Redskins Blog

Players Looking Towards Gameday On Day Off

AP Image

Now that the regular season has arrived, the regular season schedule has as well.  Players across the league have Tuesdays off, which can be used for recuperation and preparation for the week ahead.

Earlier this morning, tight end Fred Davis broke his Twitter silence for the first time in 20 months. These were his second and third tweets ever:

Season opener on the way time show the world what these skins is bout.—
Fred Davis (@freddavis83) September 06, 2011

use to have 83 in college. in my USC days you know when we were ranked no 1 every year lol. new number new person new team. leggo—
Fred Davis (@freddavis83) September 06, 2011

Davis is a soft-spoken guy, and would much rather play football than cause a stir with what he says.  This isn’t exactly Joe Namath guaranteeing a victory, but if it was worth tweeting for the first time in 20 months, then you know Davis is excited.

Regardless of Chris Cooley’s availability to play on Sunday, Davis figures to play a key role as Cooley comes back from injury.  It sounds like he’s embracing that role, in his own soft-spoken way.

Special teams captain Lorenzo Alexander also hosted a live video Q&A session on his sportsbuzz.com account.  His personal blueprint for stopping the Giants is to shut down the running game at the line.  The Redskins haven’t beaten the Giants since 2007, when Alexander remembered that they, “dominated them up front.”

Alexander noted that he loved the offseason additions of nose tackle Barry Cofield and defensive end Stephen Bowen.  In addition to being talented, he credited them with being part of the culture change in Washington this year.

“We’re gotten rid of a lot of ego this year, and there’s a lot more team-guys here,” he said.  ”You’ll see that reflected in the fourth quarter when we’re winning some of the games that we lost last year.”

Alexander was also asked how the team was going to replace a guy like Albert Haynesworth, to which he replied, “You can’t really replace someone who didn’t play.”

Alexander described himself as really superstitious, and explained his lengthy pregame routine:

“I get here really early on gameday and jump in the ice tub.  A lot of players don’t like that, but I love it.  It makes my legs feel like I didn’t even work them all that week.  I also eat two breakfast, because I like to eat a lot before a game.”

I’ll pass on the ice bath, but we have the second part in common.  Eerie.

There’s a quiet air of confidence around the team right now, and players that have been here for a few years are noticing the difference.  With preseason in the rear-view mirror and everyone starting at 0-0 the real test begins on Sunday at 4:15 p.m.