News
McCardell takes on task of developing Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kell
30 Apr 10
The Washington Post
By Jason Reid
The Redskins will enter next week's minicamp with more than a dozen wide receivers ready to go. It'll surely be a packed position meeting room, and the guy at the center of it -- new wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell -- will be trying to make sure as many of those receivers as possible are capable of competing for a roster spot.
After beginning his playing career with the Redskins as a 12th-round draft pick in 1991 and ending it with Washington in 2007, McCardell says he's excited to be back with the franchise to begin his coaching career.
Even with newly-signed veterans Joey Galloway and Bobby Wade on the roster, McCardell's biggest task could be developing young receivers who have yet to meet expectations -- most notably 2008 second-round picks Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly.
After the team's first minicamp, however, McCardell said he is getting to know the two third-year receivers and understand where they might fit best in the Redskins' new offense under Coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
"That's what these camps are for, we're trying to figure out a little bit more about them," McCardell said. "In the offseason program we've kind of run some routes, I want to see how they feel on certain routes. Now we're still a work in progress for that. I think these
guys are starting to understand the system a little bit and understand that it takes a lot to play in this system. It's a little different a system that they were in and we demand a lot from the receivers on the blocking part and the route running so it's a little more work and they're actually adjusting to it fine."
Several times when talking about Kelly, Thomas and second-year wide receiver Marko Mitchell, McCardell emphasized the idea of working harder and maximizing potential through practice. McCardell said he wasn't too familiar with Thomas and Kelly when he first joined the coaching staff, but he has already started to use his own experiences
to speed the development of the two receivers. McCardell played 17 seasons in the NFL with Washington, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and San Diego, and retired with 883 receptions - 13th most in NFL history -- 11,373 yards and 63 touchdowns.
"I think both of those guys have high expectations to be very successful receivers in the National Football League and I just want to show them how to get there," McCardell said. "I've been there and played at a high level for a long time and I was pretty successful and I want them to be successful. And I'm going to push them and push them
and push them, I'm going to push them to the edge and that's the way those guys wanted it. We talked about it, and they want it so I'm going to do that because I can tell they both are hungry and want to win. And you know what, they want to be good football players. Not just receivers, they want to be good football players, be good pros."
In addition to working with the young pass catchers - McCardell also said he sees "a lot of potential" in Mitchell - the corps will continue to lean heavily on veteran Santana Moss. A teammate of Moss's in 2007, McCardell said he has seen Moss take a more vocal role this season and that he will depend on Moss to lead by example, as well.
The Redskins are "adding more to his role, giving him more on his plate," McCardell said. "He's that guy, he's that veteran, he's the guy that I lean on to do things right to show these guys. Giving him more has made him so much more attentive to everything, even to the young guys. I know how he is, he's kind of a soft-spoken leader, he doesn't say much, [but] I've seen him change a little bit. I even told him, I said, 'Man, you're talking a little bit more.' Which is good, I like it because he's bought in and he is understanding it. He's chomping at the bit right now but he's like my pencil, I got to keep
that lead sharp, I gotta always keep my pencil sharp and he's my pencil."
