Training Camp Battles: Lauvao vs Long
With the start of the 2016 Redskins Training Camp just around the corner, we here at Redskins Capital Connection are casting our eyes forward at the pivotal battles that will be taking place in Richmond. Whether it’s a battle for a starting role, or just a battle for a roster spot, Training Camp always involves story lines that capture the attention of Redskins fans everywhere as they pay close attention to which players will be making the biggest impacts in the burgundy and gold this upcoming season. This series will look at the two players battling, as well as the ‘wildcard’ third player who has the most potential to swoop in with an unlikely win.
After finishing the regular season atop the NFC East last season, the Washington Redskins had a reasonably stable offseason as far as roster transitions are concerned, with very few starters departing via free agency, retirements, or trades.
Perhaps no where on the roster is this more true than the offensive line; every single player who started a game in 2015 has returned in 2016.
This unit is not without it’s question marks as we head into Training Camp, however. Injuries to starters necessitated numerous fluctuations last season, including at the Left Guard position which is what we’re looking at today.
The Battle for the starting Left Guard position
Joining the Redskins as a free agent in 2014 on a four-year contract, Shawn Lauvao had a rocky start to his career in Washington. During his first year, he took over the starting Left Guard position after Kory Lichtensteiger transitioned to Center, and for the first half of the season he struggled with missed blocks and allowing defenders to get around him and through to the Quarterback. Lauvao quickly became a lightning rod for Redskin fan frustration, and his name was repeatedly singled out on social media as one of the symptoms of the overall poor level of football.
Then something interesting happened; in the second half of the season he started improving. And not just a little bit, but significantly. The unfortunate reality for Lauvao was that it was in the tail end of a 4-12 season where many fans had tuned out, and therefore in their minds Lauvao was still somewhat of an unpopular player.
Nevertheless, Lauvao entered the following 2015 season as the team’s starting Left Guard under (then) new Offensive Line Coach Bill Callahan. At Training Camp last year, Lauvao stood out as a player who had overtly taken the next step in his development, and when the regular season arrived Lauvao was playing dominant football.
Shawn Lauvao sets a strong block, resulting in a Matt Jones touchdown.
With Lauvao at Left Guard, the Washington Redskins posted rushing totals of 161 and 182 yards respectively in Weeks One and Two against strong opposition defenses in St Louis and Miami.
In Week Three, Lauvao injured his ankle and was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve shortly after.
With Lauvao out of the lineup, although it had been a small sample size, the Redskins rushing attack was suddenly noticeably weaker.
The job of replacing the injured Lauvao went to (then) second-year player Spencer Long, who had seen some playing time at Right Guard in 2014 as a rookie, but had never started a game at either position. By the end of the 2015 season Long had started 13 games, and his continued development was pleasing to Redskins coaches and front office staff alike.
Spencer Long creates a gap for Alfred Morris
Although Long had his struggles in the run-game, he wasn’t terrible by any stretch of the imagination. More pleasing though was the fact that he was rock solid in the pass-game, not allowing a single sack in the regular season, which was not a fact lost on coaches. The versatility -a trait which Head Coach Jay Gruden values enormously highly– which Long brings to the team is evidenced in that Long was taking first-team reps at Left Guard during minicamp and OTAs this year (Lauvao was still recovering from ankle surgery), and he was also taking second-team reps at Center.
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The Wildcard
It seems unlikely that the starting Left Guard position will be manned by anyone other than one of Lauvao or Long, but there is still the outside possibility that 2015 Fourth Round pick Arie Kouandjio could surprised us all in Training Camp and win the position. Kouandjio was an All-American Guard for Alabama as a Senior in 2014 before entering the NFL Draft, and although he needed development to succeed in the pros, the natural talent he possesses gives him every chance to make the leap.
The Predicted Battle Winner
For this battle, it isn’t simply a question of talent winning out. It remains to be seen if Lauvao will be healthy enough to enter Training Camp and play on day one. For what it’s worth, Lauvao has claimed to be “pain free” and predicts he’ll be 100% healthy when the team comes to camp.
If Lauvao truly is fully recovered, then it seems likely he’ll be the Redskins starting Left Guard once again in 2016. If not, then Spencer Long will continue where he left off at the end of 2015.
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