WitP: Colt, Ingram, Forney, Veikune, Ikaika

The Washington Redskins play their first preseason game today at 7:30pm EST/1:30pm HST. Colt Brennan is ready.

We’ve pushed through some two-a-day practices lately and have installed our game plan for Baltimore. Things will be flying tomorrow, everyone knows how good Baltimore is and there are some big expectations for us. I’m getting ready and trying to get comfortable; it’s crazy what a difference a year makes. The one thing that I know is no matter what I did in the preseason last year or this year in training camp, it all starts over for me tomorrow night - Game on!!

Redskins.com lists Colt as one of four players to watch.

A year ago, Brennan shined in preseason play. In five games, he completed 36-of-53 passing attempts for 411 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Brennan certainly generated some excitement about himself--and his NFL potential.

Under head coach Jim Zorn, Brennan has had to refine his mechanics--from his footwork to his throwing motion--and he remains a work in progress. He was a sixth-round draft choice by the Redskins in 2008.

His development in one year will be on full display on Thursday night.

If Brennan excels again in preseason, he could catapult himself into a competition with Todd Collins for the No. 2 backup job.

Coach Jim Zorn addressed the competition and his expectations for today's game.

"...Colt Brennan in the last three or four practices has really come on as well. The closer we’re getting to these games, the more his concentration level goes up because he knows he’s going in. So he’s very excited, great competition level there. We’ll see, they’re going to lay it all out there on Thursday night.”

Chris Needham of NBC Washington takes a look at the Cult of Colt.

Colt was the darling of last year's camp, throwing three TDs and zero INTs in the pre-season games -- against third- and fourth-string players, mostly. Nevertheless, the performance was enough to earn him a cult following. You could hardly listen to a Skins call-in show without having someone yammering on about how Campbell's a bum and what the team really needed was some Hawaiian Punch.

He's got a laid-back, casual style that makes it seem like he's always having fun, which definitely is appealing to fans. Contrast that with Jason Campbell, who sometimes makes even the easy things look like a struggle.

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Jake Ingram also plays his first preseason game for the Patriots today. Sounds like he may be used extensively.

The Patriots already know what veteran Nathan Hodel can do - he’s an eight-year veteran with 116 career games - so they’ll probably devote most of the game snaps to Ingram. The reliable Lonie Paxton was the team’s snapper for the last nine seasons, so this is a significant change at an under-the-radar position.

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It appears that Kynan Forney has locked down the Chargers' starting right guard position.

The battle for the starting job at right guard is all but over.

Head coach Norv Turner confirmed Wednesday that rookie Louis Vasquez will not play in Saturday's preseason opener against Seattle. Having already missed a week of practice with a sprained left foot, Vasquez will have even less time to make an impression. So it seems doubtful he could overtake veteran Kynan Forney, who is having a tremendous camp.

“He had his best practice when things got speeded up,” Turner said of Forney. “He's very physical and has very good athletic ability.”

Forney, who returned to practice full-go Wednesday after having his neck jammed Monday, has been strong and mobile in camp. A starter for 88 games in Atlanta before the Falcons released him last September, Forney was always the front-runner. Vasquez was going to have to assert himself in exhibition games, something he'll get a late start on now.

“The way I look at (the battle) is, it's me against me,” Forney said. “I can't control what someone else does.”

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David Veikune gets a good review from the Dawgs By Nature blog.

Breaking Out for Veikune: Rookie LB David Veikune had a great practice, getting pressure all afternoon long. Dawg Scooper reports that he was playing middle linebacker with the second unit and ended up recording three sacks.

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And Ikaika Alama-Francis jokes about his offseason conditioning.

With an emphasis on size and strength on the interior of the line, players drafted to fit Rod Marinelli's Tampa 2 scheme were put on notice.

And by the looks of it, they've responded.

"It was a different mind-set," said Ikaika Alama-Francis, a 2007 second-round pick whose transition from defensive end to tackle took a bit of a U-turn with Jared DeVries' season-ending injury this week.

"I knew exactly what I had to do. They wanted me to gain weight, they wanted me to lift more weights. Get stronger, get bigger. And I did that."

Alama-Francis weighs 292 pounds, about 15 heavier than he was last season.

"There was less running, and a lot more pineapple and poi," the native Hawaiian joked. "But I felt pretty good coming into camp."