Redskins tab Guice for role as 1st- and 2nd-down 'banger'

The Washington Redskins aren't being secretive about how they intend to use Derrius Guice.

Washington took the power back with its second-round draft pick and plans to deploy him early in downs.

"He's more of a first-, second-down banger," head coach Jay Gruden said, according to ESPN's John Keim. "... Our role for him is quite easy to see. It's first, second down."

With Guice, the Redskins can eschew the running-back-by-committee approach they've used in previous seasons, at least when it comes to the lead back. Concerns about Guice's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield or contribute in pass protection, however, will force him to the sidelines on third downs for now.

"He has some improvement to do in the pass pro, without a doubt, and I think he'll be the first one to tell you," Gruden said. "That's something that sometimes in college, with only 20 hours of practice a week, some of the fundamentals as far as pass-blocking sometimes (get) swept by."

The Redskins' running game ranked 28th in the league last season. Guice rushed for 1,251 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior for LSU. That was down from his previous campaign, where he racked up 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns.

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