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Redskins-Ravens Scrimmage Report, Aug. 4

Redskins.com's scrimmage reports come to you as action happens at M&T Bank Stadium.

3:25 p.m. ET

Time to sign off. It was not exactly a stellar showing by the burgundy and gold, but then again a lot of starters did not play in the 11-on-11 portion of the scrimmage.

So you have to take the result--a 10-7 loss to the Ravens--for what it is worth.

For now, here are some notable quotes from Joe Gibbs and Jason Campbell during their pressers.

Asked why he didn't play many starters, Gibbs replied: "We just wanted to take a look at some guys that we thought have a chance and we thought this would be the best opportunity to do that. This is the best chance for them to really go to work because next week, preseason will be a whole different deal."

Gibbs, assessing the quarterbacks, said that "we have a good feel about Todd [Collins]. We want to try to get Mark [Brunell] back in there after [shoulder] surgery. It was good work. We're on the right path there as far as mindset and what we want to do."

What about Marcus Mason, who led the offense with 34 rushing yards?

"I think Marcus, to be quite truthful, has looked good to us the whole way," Gibbs replied. "He's one of the guys I'm talking about. He and Derrick [Blaylock]--we wanted to look at them both so we held all the other backs out of there. I think that both Marcus and Derrick look impressive to us."

Campbell admitted he did not expect to see action in the 11-on-11 scrimmage. Gibbs told him he would be featured in 7-on-7 drills only.

Did it matter to Campbell?

"No," he said. "I know I have four preseason games coming up. So we're just going to continue to keep working. I just wanted to play today in 7-on-7s and as a unit, we wanted to run plays against their defense to just see where we're at, how much we need to work on our speed reads on offense and our timing."

My practice blog returns on Monday afternoon, live from Redskins Park, as the Redskins resume training camp with a 4:30 p.m. practice.

3:02 p.m. ET

Just received some stats from the 11-on-11 scrimmage.

Mark Brunell was 2-of-5 for 14 yards, while Todd Collins was 4-of-6 for 28 yards.

How did the backup quarterbacks do? Casey Bramlet was 2-of-2 for 14 yards, while Jordan Palmer was 3-of-5 for 34 yards to go along with his touchdown pass.

Marcus Mason had 12 rushes for 34 yards, while Derrick Blaylock had six rushes for 20 yards.

Burl Toler logged two receptions for 29 yards and one touchdown. Blaylock led receivers with three catches for 22 yards. Ryan Hoag and Corey Bradford each had two catches apiece.

On the defensive side of the ball, Pierson Prioleau and Ade Jimoh led in tackles with three each. Sean Taylor had two tackles and a pass defended, while Lorenzo Alexander had one tackle and a forced fumble.

There was no score on the stats sheet. So we can cancel out the 10-7 result. Officially.

1:55 p.m. ET

That's it. The scrimmage is over.

In the waning moments, the Ravens' third-team offense ran a few more plays against the Redskins' backups. The only notable play? Cornerback Leigh Torrence nearly intercepted a Drew Olson pass, but Torrence could not hold on.

Both squads met at midfield to close out the scrimmage, then headed to their respective locker rooms.

The Ravens report that attendance for the scrimmage was 25,332, with about 4,000 walk-ups. There was a strong showing by Redskins fans.

I'm going down to the media room to listen in on Joe Gibbs' post-scrimmage presser. Jason Campbell should be available to media, too.

1:50 p.m. ET

Casey Bramlet came in on the Redskins' next possession to lead the offense.

On one of his few pass attempts, he connected on a 14-yard pass to Ryan Hoag along the right sideline.

Midway through the series, Bramlet was replaced by Jordan Palmer.

Palmer's first pass attempt was a dump-off under pressure, and the ball was caught by Brian Bell for a minimal gain.

On the next play, the Ravens got strong pressure and referees stopped play to call a sack on Palmer by linebacker Joe Martin. But linebacker Prescott Burgess was called for unnecessary roughness on the play, giving the Redskins a first down.

Derrick Blaylock reeled off a strong 12-yard run behind guard Will Whitticker.

Finishing off the drive, Palmer threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Burl Toler, who had a step on his defender and caught the ball falling in the end zone.

Suisham nailed the extra point, narrowing the Ravens' lead (Can you lead in a scrimmage?) to 10-7.

1:45 p.m. ET

On Baltimore's next possession, Kyle Boller connected with tight end Daniel Wilcox on two consecutive passes, including a 40-yarder that included a long run after the catch, putting the Ravens inside the Redskins' 10-yard line.

Faced with another goal-line stand, the defensive line stuffed a run play.

Then Boller was forced into an incomplete pass after he was pressured by Anthony Montgomery and Lemar Marshall.

John Eubanks turned in a nice play when he stopped wide receiver Matt Willis on a tackle at the 1-yard line, but then he was called for unnecessary roughness when he pushed Willis down too hard after the whistle had blown. That gave the Ravens a first down at the 1-yard line.

H.B. Blades and Lorenzo Alexander combined to stuff a running play up the middle.

On the next play, Ravens running back P.J. Daniels scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to the right, slipping into the end zone past blockers. The Ravens have a 10-0 scrimmage lead.

1:40 p.m. ET

Time for Todd Collins to get some work. Like Brunell, Collins turned in an uneven performance.

His nicest pass was a 10-yard out pattern to Corey Bradford

Marcus Mason stepped up, picked up 8 yards with a run to the left. Todd Wade had a nice block to free Mason.

On the next play, Mason picked up a first down, again on a running play to the left.

Later, Mason was stopped in his tracks by Ravens' linebacker Gary Stills, who spun around Mason for a loss.

On the last play of the Redskins' series, Collins tossed a sideline pass into double coverage and the receiver could not reach the ball.

1:30 p.m. ET

The first-team defense included Sean Taylor, LaRon Landry, London Fletcher and Rocky McIntosh. That's four projected starters. Up front, Renaldo Wynn, Joe Salave'a and Demetric Evans were responsible for fortifying the defensive line.

Looks like coaches want Taylor and Landry to get acclimated to each other quickly.

Steve McNair was at quarterback for the Ravens. He completed a pass over the middle to Todd Heap. McIntosh had a chance to tackle him, but Heap escaped and gained 20 yards.

Demetrius Williams found an open spot in the Redskins' secondary and Boller connected with him for a completion to the 10-yard line.

Time for a goal-line stand.

Kyle Boller came in to replace McNair and completed another pass to Williams. Ade Jimoh came up with a nice tackle three yards short of the goal line.

The Ravens tried to run it in with Musa Smith, but he was stopped short by Sean Taylor, who lost his helmet on the play. Taylor then got into a shoving match with Ravens' wide receiver Devard Darling.

Last chance for the Ravens: the Redskins' defense had good coverage in the end zone. Boller's pass fluttered incomplete.

The Ravens settled for a 20-yard field goal by Matt Stover and a 3-0 lead.

1:20 p.m. ET

Mark Brunell, leading the first-team offense, was uneven in 11-on-11s.

He threw a pass slightly behind Kyle Brown, and the ball bounced off Brown's hands. He probably should have caught the ball, but when Brown went back to the huddle, Brunell took responsibility.

Marcus Mason found a hole to the left, followed blockers and burst for an 8-yard gain.

The drive eventually stalled after the allotted 10 plays.

1:10 p.m. ET

In 11-on-11 work, the first team Redskins offense is not the first team. Since Jason Campbell got so much work earlier in 7-on-7s, it appears he is done for the day.

Mark Brunell opens at quarterback.

Derrick Blaylock opens at running back and Todd Yoder is the tight end.

Todd Wade is in at left guard, though. Coaches want to get a good evaluation of him at his new position.

Stephon Heyer is working at left tackle. The rest of the offensive line includes Mike Pucillo, Will Whitticker and Taylor Whitley.

1:05 p.m. ET

Fred Smoot with the play of the day so far. In 7-on-7s, Ravens quarterback Steve McNair under-threw tight end Todd Heap, and Smoot leaped up for the interception.

Smoot raced down the sideline with the pick, stopping to celebrate before he ran into the Redskins offense working on the opposite side of the field.

Time for the 11-on-11 scrimmage. Here we go...

12:55 p.m. ET

Jason Campbell is getting a lot of work so far. He has taken the bulk of reps in 7-on-7 work, and has looked sharp. He continues to throw a lot of check-downs, though--he's only thrown a handful of passes more than 10 yards.

In his 7-on-7 stint, Mark Brunell completed a handful of short passes as well. He completed one pass to Antwaan Randle El who was wide open on an out pattern.

Brunell's pass to Burl Toler across the middle was broken up on a nice play by Ravens cornerback Ronnie Prude.

Another Brunell pass over the middle of the field was nearly picked off by linebacker Dennis Haley, but the ball slipped through his fingers and nearly landed into the arms of the Redskins receiver.

12:55 p.m. ET

Watched only a handful of plays of the defense during 7-on-7 work.

Ravens backup quarterback Drew Olson threw a pass to wide receiver Demetrius Williams in the back of the end zone. Williams made a leaping grab ahead of Reed Doughty, and the stadium announcer called it a touchdown. But the referee waved his arms incomplete. Williams did not get both feet in bounds.

John Eubanks, who has had a solid training camp, broke up an Olson pass at the goal line, saving a touchdown.

12:54 p.m. ET

Time for 7-on-7 work. Both clubs are working on opposite sides of the field now.

With the line of scrimmage the 45-yard line, Jason Campbell played efficiently, throwing a series of short passes to Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright and Chris Cooley.

Finally, a score. Jason Campbell goes deep, throwing a pass to James Thrash downfield. Thrash was running a post pattern and was covered by Samari Rolle and Gerome Sapp. Thrash caught the ball falling into the end zone.

Later, Campbell and Thrash connected again on a 20-yard pass across the middle of the field.

12:45 p.m. ET

So far, there has been limited contact between the two clubs on special teams. Among the rules agreed to by Joe Gibbs and Brian Billick, there is to be no hard tackling during drills.

Playing punt coverage, Fred Smoot leveled a block on Ravens' wide receiver Damien Linson, pushing the 5-10, 186-pound wide receiver back about five years.

That's the hardest hit I've seen so far.

12:40 p.m. ET

Shaun Suisham may need to work on his consistency, too. He had two kickoff attempts during special teams work.

His first kickoff boomed five yards into the end zone.

Suisham shanked his second kickoff--it landed at the 20-yard line and bounced out of bounds.

12:28 p.m. ET

Time for special teams work. I'll be watch the blocking along the lines and the performances of kicker Shaun Suisham and punter Derrick Frost.

What a start for Frost: On his first punt, he lofted a 60-yard, high-arching punt. A beauty.

His second punt was more of a line drive, easily returnable, but still traveled about 50 yards.

Frost has always struggled with consistency. His fourth punt was a short line drive that went about 35 yards. Again, easily returnable.

He boomed his fifth punt about 60 yards again. It was his best punt because it had solid hang time and cornered the Ravens' returner into one side of the field.

12:15 p.m. ET

Chris Cooley is wearing yellow socks pulled all the way up.

Fred Smoot and Carlos Rogers started this fashion trend during training camp practice. For the scrimmage, they're just wearing yellow socks.

12:15 p.m. ET

Now the Redskins are warming up. There sure are a lot of players out there--86 in all, lined up across half the field.

Redskins are wearing their burgundy jerseys for the scrimmage.

Players are working through drills, just like they do before a regular-season game. This is all part of Joe Gibbs' preparation. Even though this is a scrimmage, he wants players to be in game mode, even through warm-ups.

Word is that temperatures are going to be close to 100 degrees. Fortunately, I'm in an air-conditioned press box overlooking the field...just in case you were worried about me.

12:08 p.m. ET

We sure do have a lot of quarterbacks. Five in all. They're all warming up in one end zone, working on the fundamentals of snapping the ball.

That means you need five centers to snap them the ball. Do we have five centers? Well, no. That's why Jon Jansen was snapping the ball for Mark Brunell.

12:03 p.m. ET

The Ravens' entire squad is on the field, stretching. For the Redskins, only the quarterbacks, wide receivers, defensive backs have made an appearance on the field.

Where's our team?

11:15 a.m. ET

Trevor Pryce is a defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens. He was on television Friday night discussing the scrimmage, and he called Saturday's proceedings a "dress rehearsal for a dress rehearsal."

Sounds about right. This is basically a glorified practice.

Scrimmages are actually regimented. Here's the format for the scrimmage:

12 noon ET: 25 minutes of stretch and warm-ups.

12:25 p.m. ET: 15 minutes of special teams: six punts and six punt returns.

12:40 p.m. ET: 30 minutes of 7-on-7 work (with teams back to back on the field).

1:10 p.m. ET: Scrimmage: four sets of 10 play drives.

Overall, the first-teamers will go up against each for a total of 20 plays.

It is not permissible for quarterbacks to be hit. That's why they wear the yellow jerseys, after all.

11:08 a.m. ET

Scanning the Ravens' roster for Redskins connections. Not many.

On the player roster, offensive lineman Ikechuku Ndukwe was with the Redskins' practice squad in 2005 and part of 2006. Offensive lineman Chris Pino took part in Redskins training camp in 2006.

Former Redskins safety Mark Carrier (2000) is the Ravens' secondary coach.

Former Redskins linebackers coach Jeff Fitzgerald (1998-99) now serves in the same capacity with the Ravens.

Ravens national scout Lionel Vital was a seventh-round draft pick by the Redskins in 1985. He was a reserve running back for the Redskins in the mid-1980s.

11:05 a.m. ET

It's general admission seating for the scrimmage at M&T Bank Stadium. The doors have opened, and now fans are rushing into the stadium for premium seating. That means getting a seat positioned right behind the Redskins' and Ravens' benches.

Seats are filling up fast.

Among Baltimore fans, there's a measure of excitement about the Ravens this year.

The Ravens, of course, are coming off a 13-3 season, capturing the AFC North crown. They lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts in the division playoffs.

10:50 a.m. ET

Here we are, live from Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. Players just arrived by bus 20 minutes ago, and a few are walking around the field.

Mike Espy, Dallas Sartz and Pete Schmitt, inactive for the scrimmage due to injury, jogged around the field.

Jordan Palmer is on the field tossing a few warm-up passes with Casey Bramlet.

Joe Bugel took a brisk walk in the field in the summer heat, then did push-ups in a corner of the end zone. Yes, you read that right. Bugel did push-ups. The man is tough as nails, even at age 67.

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