ASHBURN, Va. -- When Robert Kelley showed up a few pounds heavier after his red shirt year at Tulane, running backs coach David Johnson gave him a backpack with Fat Rob inscribed on it, and the nickname stuck.More of a moniker among friends than anything else for several years, Fat Rob resurfaced when Kelley joined the Washington Redskins in training camp. The undrafted free agent is now going into his third game as the Redskins starting running back Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers.He earned the spot by being Positive Rob.Usurping Matt Jones as the No. 1 back, Kelley has stabilized the offense by holding onto the ball and seemingly always getting back to the line of scrimmage if not much further.There arent many negative plays with Robert, coach Jay Gruden said. You stay on track as a play-caller, and it makes the game flow a lot smoother when youre in second-and-7, second-and-6, second-and-5, and thats a great tribute to him. Hes a hard runner.Kelley isnt flashy, but hes effective. Since taking over the starting role Oct. 30 against the Cincinnati Bengals, 39 of his 43 carries have been for positive yardage, with just one loss and three for no gain.Kelley takes great pride in that stat.Thats how I run the ball, Kelley said. Im not one of (those) guys that sits back all day and just try to dance around. I try to get north and south as much as possible.Gruden said Kelley putting the Redskins in manageable down-and-distance situations means your whole playbook is open and allows quarterback Kirk Cousins to freeze defenders with play-action. It worked in a 26-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings when Kelley ran for 97 yards.It does make a difference and keeps our offense going in a positive direction, Cousins said. The play-action game can be effective for us.Because third-down back Chris Thompson is a capable receiver out of the backfield and the change-of-pace runner, Kelley doesnt have to try to do too much -- just hold on to the ball. While Jones lost the job in part because of his fumbling problems, Kelley has yet to fumble in 60 NFL carries.Success has come quick for the 24-year-old from New Orleans, so much that he doesnt believe it. When Jones hurt his shoulder during the preseason, Kelley was reluctant to say if hed be able to carry the load as the starter.When Kelley learned from Gruden last month that he was being named the starter, he tempered his excitement and was determined to make the coaching staff proud. Hes in the midst of doing just that, but he didnt expect to be a pro starter this quickly.Im always surprised, he said. I always try to take advantage and dont just go out there and get big-headed and stuff like that.Far from becoming over confident, Kelley continues to study film in the hopes of improving. He saw cuts he missed against the Bengals and worked to not make the same mistakes in his second start.He said some of his biggest runs have come on off-schedule plays, but he hasnt yet broken off anything longer than 18 yards. Kelley considers cohesion with the offensive line the next step in his progression.Just keep constantly showing my guys I trust in them -- the front line, the front five -- and make those guys look better, Kelley said. They also try to make me look better. They make holes for me that I dont have to do too much to get through and stuff like that. We kind of work together and try to build that chemistry with those guys.NOTE: WR DeSean Jackson was a limited participant in practice Wednesday because of a left shoulder injury. After missing the Vikings game he took part in individual workouts, but Gruden was noncommittal about Jacksons status for Sunday night.---For more NFL coverage:
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http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . Rio -- Indian boxer Manoj Kumar stunned London Olympics bronze-medallist Evaldas Petrauskas in a fiercely-contested opening bout to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the 64kg category.?Manoj, a Commonwealth Games gold-medalist, prevailed 2-1 in a hard-fought battle in which he had to hold his ground against the intense aggression displayed by the Lithuanian Petrauskas in all three rounds. Manoj will next be up against the fifth-seeded Uzbek Fazliddin Gaibnazarov in the pre-quarters, scheduled for Sunday.Evenly-matched on pace and agility, Manoj and Petrauskas were quite distinct in their attacking approach. While Petrauskas, the London Olympics bronze winner in the lightweight 60kg division, aggressively tried to engage the Indian from close range, Manoj preferred to back-peddle and hit from a distance.You dont get time to think as much in the ring, Manoj said after the bout. I was responding to his punching style in the ring, you have to adapt your strategy to how your opponent in the ring is boxing.At the end of the opening three minutes, it was Manojs tactics that found favour with the judges, who awarded the first round to him.In the second round, too, Petrauskas was the more aggressive of the twoo but Manoj managed to stave off the challenge by sticking to his strategy of keeping a distance and hitting occasional uppercuts to his opponents body.ddddddddddddNeither of the boxers were willing to make any change to their strategy in the final three minutes as well, although the desperate attacks launched by Petrauskas did unnerve Manoj to an extent.The pumped-up effort secured Petrauskas the final round, but it was not enough to turn the bout in his favour as Manoj was adjudged the winner.I was happy to have pulled the bout off. I knew he was a hard opponent but I hadnt spent much time studying him, Manoj said. I prefer not to do too much tactical planning away from the ring because if it doesnt come off you arent sure how to respond. So it is best to leave it to the ring.I am confident that the hard work I have put in all these years will work in my favour at the Olympics.The win meant Manoj joined seventh-seed Vikas Krishan (75kg) as the second Indian boxers in the pre-quarters. On Thursday, Shiva Thapa will open his campaign in the bantamweight (56kg) category. ' ' '
