Washington Redskins Preview
There's nothing new about the lame duck phenomenon in Washington . D.C. It's certainly part of the political landscape, as many on the Hill (and, of course, the White House) recently experienced. Usually however, we're not talking about lame ducks in a football sense, but we wonder if we'll have to change that tune this year for that other Washington institution, the Redskins...in particular QB Jason Campbell.
The fact is that Campbell is signed only through this winter, and his long-term status in Washington suddenly doesn't look much different than George W. Bush's did at this time a year ago. Especially since the Skins spent much of their offseason apparently looking for a different alternative at QB. Sources indicate that Washington was reportedly one of the finalists in the "Jay Cutler Derby" that was eventually won by the Bears, and the Redskins made no secret about their maneuvering on draft day to move up and have a shot at one of the top available QBs, most likely USC's Mark Sanchez (who went to the Jets instead). Had Washington been able to trade up (as did the Jets) and land Sanchez, Campbell's agent Joel Segal was reportedly ready to demand an immediate trade. Which probably wouldn't have bothered owner Dan Snyder, who was supposedly the one behind all of the machinations to replace Campbell in the first place. However, none of the deals materialized, and, for the record, there were no Brett Favre sightings at Dulles Airport, either. So, by the time minicamp rolled around in May, there was Campbell , still standing, and still the Skins' starting QB...at least for now.
Campbell had become something of a popular scapegoat for a 2008 Washington season that eventually went pear-shaped after a promising start under first-year HC Jim Zorn, who had Skins fans thinking playoffs into December. Indeed, Washington won its first four games out of the box for Zorn, including surprising road wins at Dallas and Philadelphia, and was still sitting pretty at 7-3 after 10 weeks before falling into a trap door and losing five of its last six to finish 8-8. Along the way, Zorn's version of the West Coast offense stalled, recording only 16.6 ppg (ranking 28th in the league) as Campbell was battered behind an OL that was overmatched on a weekly basis down the stretch. Compounding the problems was the fact that Campbell eventually had few viable downfield receiving targets outside of WR Santana Moss, who was getting double-teamed too often to make an impact. Expected contributions from rookies such as WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, plus TE Fred Davis, never materialized, each struggling with the multiplicities of an NFL offense, hampered by missed assignments and imprecise route-running in a system that demands exact execution. Even All-Pro RB Clinton Portis (1487 YR in '08) had trouble gaining traction in the last half of the campaign, gaining as many as 80 yards only twice in the last eight games.
Although moves to alter the QB situation didn't pan out, Zorn and Director of Football operations Vinny Cerrato at least tried to address the issue of an aging OL in the offseason. The RT spot remains a question mark, but Cerrato went the free agent route by bringing back G Derrick Dockery, a former Skins draft pick who spent the last two years with the Bills. Cerrato, however, did little to enhance the skill positions in the draft or free agency. Perhaps that was because Zorn convinced him that his version of the West Coast will be able to expand and diversify in '09 simply because most of the components, such as QB Campbell, will be more familiar with it. Last year's rookie receivers Thomas, Kelly, and Davis (who combined for only 21 catches last year) will be expected to contribute more in the many three and four-receiver sets that Zorn employs; the athletic Davis, in particular, could emerge as a real threat given that Zorn wants to stretch defenses horizontally and vertically with 2-TE sets hopefully featuring Davis along with productive underneath threat Chris Cooley (83 catches , but only 1 TD, LY). The development of the young receivers is especially important since top two wideouts Moss and Antwaan Randle-El have been prone to injuries in recent years. It would also be no surprise if Portis, who appeared to wear down late in '08, begins relinquishing more carries to capable Ladell Betts, who has filled in admirably in the past.
Prospects for a defense that ranked fourth in the league are much brighter and further enhanced by some big-time activity in the FA market. In particular, the biggest fish of this year's FA pond, DT Albert Haynesworth, was signed away from the Titans in a mega $100 million, multi-year deal that may or may not have broken NFL tampering roles (the Titans apparently think so; if proven, the Skins won't lose Haynesworth, but could be fined and/or docked draft picks as the 49ers were last year for improper contact with reps for Bears LB Lance Briggs). Snyder also opened up the checkbook to re-sign playmaking CB DeAngelo Hall, and the draft focused on adding a few more toys for d.c. Greg Blache, including Texas' monster DE Brian Orakpo, whose versatility was showcased at minicamp when he also impressed in several reps at OLB. Maryland CB Kevin Barnes could also be a third-round steal. Last year's experiment with DE Jason Taylor, however, was a dismal failure, and OLB Marcus Washington was a cap casualty, but the stop unit still enters fall as definitely the more encouraging of the Skins' two platoons.
Bottom line...Given the money that owner Snyder has been tossing around in D.C., not to mention his meddling reputation, we suspect that both Zorn and Cerrato are on the clock this fall. Especially since the word around the league is that Cerrato might be in over his head in his personnel supremo role, an observation partially confirmed by the Jason Taylor fiasco. And by not lobbying harder for upgrades, Zorn is taking an awfully big risk by assuming Campbell and the offense will improve simply because they'll be more familiar with his system. Expect the Bill Cowher rumors to begin surfacing again as soon as it looks as if the Skins will miss the playoffs.
There's nothing new about the lame duck phenomenon in Washington . D.C. It's certainly part of the political landscape, as many on the Hill (and, of course, the White House) recently experienced. Usually however, we're not talking about lame ducks in a football sense, but we wonder if we'll have to change that tune this year for that other Washington institution, the Redskins...in particular QB Jason Campbell.
The fact is that Campbell is signed only through this winter, and his long-term status in Washington suddenly doesn't look much different than George W. Bush's did at this time a year ago. Especially since the Skins spent much of their offseason apparently looking for a different alternative at QB. Sources indicate that Washington was reportedly one of the finalists in the "Jay Cutler Derby" that was eventually won by the Bears, and the Redskins made no secret about their maneuvering on draft day to move up and have a shot at one of the top available QBs, most likely USC's Mark Sanchez (who went to the Jets instead). Had Washington been able to trade up (as did the Jets) and land Sanchez, Campbell's agent Joel Segal was reportedly ready to demand an immediate trade. Which probably wouldn't have bothered owner Dan Snyder, who was supposedly the one behind all of the machinations to replace Campbell in the first place. However, none of the deals materialized, and, for the record, there were no Brett Favre sightings at Dulles Airport, either. So, by the time minicamp rolled around in May, there was Campbell , still standing, and still the Skins' starting QB...at least for now.
Campbell had become something of a popular scapegoat for a 2008 Washington season that eventually went pear-shaped after a promising start under first-year HC Jim Zorn, who had Skins fans thinking playoffs into December. Indeed, Washington won its first four games out of the box for Zorn, including surprising road wins at Dallas and Philadelphia, and was still sitting pretty at 7-3 after 10 weeks before falling into a trap door and losing five of its last six to finish 8-8. Along the way, Zorn's version of the West Coast offense stalled, recording only 16.6 ppg (ranking 28th in the league) as Campbell was battered behind an OL that was overmatched on a weekly basis down the stretch. Compounding the problems was the fact that Campbell eventually had few viable downfield receiving targets outside of WR Santana Moss, who was getting double-teamed too often to make an impact. Expected contributions from rookies such as WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, plus TE Fred Davis, never materialized, each struggling with the multiplicities of an NFL offense, hampered by missed assignments and imprecise route-running in a system that demands exact execution. Even All-Pro RB Clinton Portis (1487 YR in '08) had trouble gaining traction in the last half of the campaign, gaining as many as 80 yards only twice in the last eight games.
Although moves to alter the QB situation didn't pan out, Zorn and Director of Football operations Vinny Cerrato at least tried to address the issue of an aging OL in the offseason. The RT spot remains a question mark, but Cerrato went the free agent route by bringing back G Derrick Dockery, a former Skins draft pick who spent the last two years with the Bills. Cerrato, however, did little to enhance the skill positions in the draft or free agency. Perhaps that was because Zorn convinced him that his version of the West Coast will be able to expand and diversify in '09 simply because most of the components, such as QB Campbell, will be more familiar with it. Last year's rookie receivers Thomas, Kelly, and Davis (who combined for only 21 catches last year) will be expected to contribute more in the many three and four-receiver sets that Zorn employs; the athletic Davis, in particular, could emerge as a real threat given that Zorn wants to stretch defenses horizontally and vertically with 2-TE sets hopefully featuring Davis along with productive underneath threat Chris Cooley (83 catches , but only 1 TD, LY). The development of the young receivers is especially important since top two wideouts Moss and Antwaan Randle-El have been prone to injuries in recent years. It would also be no surprise if Portis, who appeared to wear down late in '08, begins relinquishing more carries to capable Ladell Betts, who has filled in admirably in the past.
Prospects for a defense that ranked fourth in the league are much brighter and further enhanced by some big-time activity in the FA market. In particular, the biggest fish of this year's FA pond, DT Albert Haynesworth, was signed away from the Titans in a mega $100 million, multi-year deal that may or may not have broken NFL tampering roles (the Titans apparently think so; if proven, the Skins won't lose Haynesworth, but could be fined and/or docked draft picks as the 49ers were last year for improper contact with reps for Bears LB Lance Briggs). Snyder also opened up the checkbook to re-sign playmaking CB DeAngelo Hall, and the draft focused on adding a few more toys for d.c. Greg Blache, including Texas' monster DE Brian Orakpo, whose versatility was showcased at minicamp when he also impressed in several reps at OLB. Maryland CB Kevin Barnes could also be a third-round steal. Last year's experiment with DE Jason Taylor, however, was a dismal failure, and OLB Marcus Washington was a cap casualty, but the stop unit still enters fall as definitely the more encouraging of the Skins' two platoons.
Bottom line...Given the money that owner Snyder has been tossing around in D.C., not to mention his meddling reputation, we suspect that both Zorn and Cerrato are on the clock this fall. Especially since the word around the league is that Cerrato might be in over his head in his personnel supremo role, an observation partially confirmed by the Jason Taylor fiasco. And by not lobbying harder for upgrades, Zorn is taking an awfully big risk by assuming Campbell and the offense will improve simply because they'll be more familiar with his system. Expect the Bill Cowher rumors to begin surfacing again as soon as it looks as if the Skins will miss the playoffs.
