ASHBURN, Va. -- Donovan McNabb must have wondered if he was back in Philadelphia.
On the first day of Washington Redskins training camp, a heckler stood near the front of the crowd and criticized every bad pass, every bobbled ball and pined out loud for the return of departed quarterback Jason Campbell.
Dress code for Eagles practice?
A fan wearing a Donovan McNabb Redskins jersey at Eagles practice Wednesday had to remove it. The fan said a security guard told him that Eagles coach Andy Reid took notice. **More ...**
"Must have been a great catch," the fan yelled after McNabb completed one pass, "because it couldn't have been a good throw."
As the days went by, other fans might have felt that the heckler was on to something. McNabb seemed to have more passes intercepted than he should. He was throwing behind receivers, and earlier this week, he unleashed a wounded duck that was easily picked off by Carlos Rogers downfield.
McNabb's performance could be simply a matter of him adjusting to new surroundings and a new offense. Or maybe fans are catching a glimpse of why the Eagles were willing to trade the quarterback after 11 seasons.
Naturally, McNabb and the Redskins chalk it up to the adjustment factor after just two weeks of training camp. All sides acknowledge, however, that there have been some growing pains.
"I think it's been different for him," Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday. "He's been so comfortable in a situation for 11 years that he's never had to really grind out the system, because that (Eagles system) came natural to him with time. So it's been a little different for him knowing that he's really got to put in the work, and just the book -- just memorizing what we're doing, memorizing the verbiage -- so it's taken some time for him."
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan noted that McNabb essentially is learning to speak a different language with different progressions and different footwork. Even a good student such as McNabb won't master it right away.
"It's going to take some time where he feels it's second nature," Shanahan said. "It usually takes a couple of years, even for a veteran."
Of course, no one will be patient enough to wait a couple of years. The season opener against the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys is only 4½ weeks away. The first look at McNabb in a Redskins uniform in a game situation comes Friday night, when he'll likely take 12 to 15 snaps in the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills.
"It's a growing process," McNabb said. "We know that everything isn't going to be where we need to be for Dallas, but that's why we play the preseason, to kick the rust off a little bit and kind of get our timing and chemistry where we need to be."
Kyle Shanahan said some of the early miscues in camp might be beneficial in the long run.
"You almost sometimes want them to make some mistakes," he said, "because quarterbacks really don't remember what you want them to do until they mess it up. They get scarred by it and then they remember.
"Some of the new concepts he hasn't seen, and he has missed some of these throws and missed some of the reads, and I think it's good when that happens in practice, so he remembers them and remembers why it's not a good decision."
McNabb understands his coach's point.
"Once you make a mistake and you realize what the mistake was, then you eliminate that," McNabb said. "That's for any player. Now if you kind of go through and you don't make a lot of mistakes, and then when you do, you don't have an answer for it? Then obviously you have to pull yourself back and try to find a solution. We've all made mistakes as these days continued on. We've all corrected them and found out what we did wrong."
So there's no need to panic. In fact, there's even time for laughs. McNabb was ready Wednesday when it was pointed out that he doesn't have as much hair as he did in the past.
"I'm an older guy now," he said. "I'm more mature. Responsible. Just really looking for that sexier look from the 30-and-over league -- for the ladies who are paying attention."
McNabb also is vowing payback for a locker-room prank played by tight end Chris Cooley, who had a youngster hide in the quarterback's locker one day after practice. Cooley posted the video of McNabb's priceless expression when the boy jumped out and surprised the quarterback.
"That's going to come back on all those guys who were responsible for that," McNabb said. "That's a dangerous thing, having someone jump out of your locker when you least expect it, but it'll come back."
Notes: Albert Haynesworth worked with the starters at nose tackle Wednesday, but only because Ma'ake Kemoeatu was rested after needing an IV for dehydration Tuesday afternoon. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said Haynesworth needs "to clean up the technique" to play in the 3-4 defense. "We don't want him to spin. We don't want him to 'ole' blocks," Haslett said. "We want him to play with more power. The guy's a very, very powerful guy. I think he needs to use power in his game. I think that'll make him a better football player." ... DL Scott Darrion was carted off the field during Wednesday's practice in stifling heat and treated for dehydration. ... RB Clinton Portis returned after missing Tuesday's practice with a sore left groin. ... WR Malcolm Kelly (hamstring), RT Jammal Brown (hip), WR Mike Furrey (concussion), S Chris Horton (groin) and QB Richard Bartel (hamstring) won't play Friday. ... S LaRon Landry (toe) was limited in practice Wednesday, but he will play Friday.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
