Chris Cooley Getting Comfortable with Offense, McNabb

Washington Redskins tight end, Chris Cooley, has been with the team for seven years.  In that time, he has witnessed more than a few coaching changes.  He told the Washington Post recently that he is impressed with the new system that head coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan are installing.

"As far as the offense I've really been impressed with the way they've coached it,"  Chris Cooley said. "There's a lot of volume, it's the NFL so you expect that, but the way we've utilized time in the classroom, the way Coach [Kyle] Shanahan has coached it with a lot of film study instead of just black and white on paper has been really impressive, I've really enjoyed that."

That said, the new coaches are not the only thing that is new in the offense.  Quarterback, Donovan McNabb, signed this off-season, is an adjustment for  Chris Cooley also.

Santana Moss is, so far, the only proven number 1 receiver on the team.  Veterans Bobby Wade and Joey Galloway are also that but not in Shanahan's specific system.  Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas are promising but have yet to prove themselves.

It's been said that Shanahan plans to use both  Chris Cooley and third-year tight end Fred Davis this season but it appears Cooley may be used in an even more expanded role.  This makes sense given the unknowns surrounding the current receiving corps.  According to the Post, Cooley has been running, "everything the receivers run" and because of that, it is even more important that he and McNabb get comfortable with each other on the field.

The Pro Bowl tight end has proven he can get to know his quarterback.  In 2007 and 2008, he developed a strong connection with former QB Jason Campbell and it showed when he caught 149 passes for 1635 yards and nine touchdowns.  Work in this off-season will hopefully bring about similar or better results this season.

The Post reports that Chris Cooley said about McNabb, ""He's fine as far as his reads on the plays. It's just learning how guys are going to run routes is a big difference.  He's been around guys that have done things the way he's wanted so you've got to talk it over. You gotta say, 'Well, this is how I'm going to do it,' or 'what do you want here?' And I think that's been the toughest part. I've [run] routes in the past and I've not got balls, and I've seen balls from Donovan and they're not where I expect them to be. And so we just all got to get on the same page and we will."

No doubt, with the talent these two players have, and the motivation being shown out in Ashburn, this will happen.