The Redskins Blog

Even when discussing the positive notes of the Redskins off-season, besides the depressing fact that the high point may be the 42-17 drubbing of the lowly Buffalo Bills in Preseason Week 1 action, it’s hard for anyone to mention Washington football without the massive shadow of Albert Haynesworth somehow clouding the conversation.  As opposed to the “elephant in the room,” which everyone has on their mind but no one makes public mention of, “the elephant in maroon” has ballooned into quite the opposite situation, permeating all media coverage of the Redskins.  Starting with his initial opposition to implementing the 3-4 defense, subsequently collecting his money before making demands to be moved, Haynesworth has grabbed unwanted headlines all summer long.  His discontent was continued as his oversized frame was noticeably absent from Redskins off-season workout programs.  When Haynesworth finally set foot on-field to practice with his teammates come time for training camp, the multimillion dollar athlete (loose use of the word) was unable to pass a requisite conditioning test.  It’s fair to mention this test is far from the famed Jerry Rice iron man workout up and down Bay Area hills, merely a timed 300-yard shuttle run to be completed twice, with necessary completion time adjusted by position.  In fact, the test wouldn’t have even been an issue had he simply shown up for the off-season conditioning program. [...]

Despite the addition of Donovan McNabb, in order for this Redskins squad to make any progress in Mike Shanahan’s first year, the team is going to need major impact seasons from its so-called skill positions.  As it’s been chronicled, with a combined 24 seasons of NFL service, it’s fair to assume there’s a general sense of what to expect from the running back committee.  Even if the Wild Hogs (in reference to the motorcycle movie where Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy try to recapture their youth) actually put up serviceable numbers in the backfield, it is fairly certain there will be no breakout seasons coming from the collective bunch of old-timers.  In order for the Skins to take a major step, the offense will likely have to turn to its other set of skill players, the receiving corps, which in recent seasons has looked less than skilled.  Santana Moss is entrenched as a starter, but the job opposite Moss is still up for grabs. [...]

1. Dallas Cowboys (2009: 11-5) – The Cowboys will enter the season in familiar fashion, a popular pick as a Super Bowl contender among NFL fans and analysts.  Dallas finally ended their post-season slump, defeating the Eagles in the first round of last year’s playoffs, the first such win in their last 6 playoff contests.  An already impressive offense in 2009 only adds firepower in 2010, in the form of first round pick Dez Bryant, who could compete with Roy Williams for the number #2 spot at wide receiver as soon as he returns from a training camp injury.  Miles Austin is coming off a breakout year as he leads what should be a deep receiving corps for Tony Romo to choose from.  The ‘Boys have similar versatility in the backfield with the RB committee of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Chocie. [...]

Not to stomp on fellow Redskins’ fans collective birthday cake, but a lot of people in the D.C. area are acting as if the Redskins finally acquired the second coming of Doug Williams, destined to lead the team to Super Bowl glory in his first season with the Skins.  To put it as lightly as possible, there is quite simply no way that will ever happen.  Granted, the situations are obviously very different, with McNabb coming over as part of a high profile trade with the Eagles, while Williams was brought in as a backup to Jay Schroeder after spending time in the USFL.  Still, the idea that McNabb could hoist the Lombardi trophy in Washington, particularly spurning to the rival Philadelphia NFL franchise that cast him away, seems to have brought an uncanny sense of optimism among the FedEx Field faithful.  Let’s dispel the notion that McNabb, who never actually won a Super Bowl while playing in Philly, could possibly engineer playoff run with the current talent around him. [...]

Perhaps lost in the Haynesworth hoopla and the hyped up McNabb-led passing game is the fact that the Washington Redskins have arguably the deepest backfield in the National Football League… circa 2005.  Okay, so it’s been a few year years since Larry Johnson and Willie Parker struck fear into opposing linebackers, but once upon a time, a backfield of Johnson, Parker and old standby Clinton Portis would have been closer to a Pro-Bowl roster than the Redskins preseason squad.  The year 2005 saw Parker rush for 1,202 yards and 4 touchdowns; Johnson added 1,750 rushing with 20 scores, while Portis scampered for 1,516, finding the end zone 11 times on the ground.  That brings the cumulative total to 4,468 rushing yards and 35 TDs, and this doesn’t even factor in receiving stats.  Last year, by comparison, the three-headed monster combined for just 1,087 ground yards with just 1 lone rushing touchdown, while battling injuries, reduced carries and in Johnson’s case character issues.  So is there any upside to signing Parker and Johnson or did the President’s “Cash for Clunkers” program just matriculate down the D.C. landscape? [...]