Ah Mini-Camp!

Sunday, June 17th, 2007...10:49 pm by Lee Gibbons

If there is one sign mini-camp is upon us, its the complete bombardment of feel-good stories in every local newspaper in the NFL. 99% of those stories can be taking with a grain of a salt, but for Redskins fans it was a welcome change from the doom and gloom that has followed this team around since last season.

Let’s be honest, Jason Campbell isn’t going to complete 100% of his passes this year. Its pretty unlikely that Rocky McIntosh is going to dominate despite his great camp and I’m willing to be at one point this year, there will be an issue over carries between Portis and Betts. But optimism abounds right now, and lets look at some reasons why:

Jason Campbell: During the off-season, having a young QB is fun stuff. You can dream up endless possibilities for him and hope that he ends up being ‘the man’. Then the reality of the season hits and you are usually dealing with a player who’s still learning and who’s going to make mistakes. But Campbell has all the makings of a good one. He’s had success before, he has a good arm and from all accounts he’s willing to work his ass off to get better. Its been so long since the Redskins have had a franchise QB that could lock up the position for 5 years (or even 2 years) and Campbell has a good shot to be that guy. At the very least, he probably has a 50-50 shot of being better than Eli Manning this year.
The Running Game: The Redskins are going to run a LOT this year. They have two good running backs and a young quarterback and that is going to equal a TON of rush attempts. Luckily, its this team’s biggest strength and they should end up near the top of the league in rushing yards.
Special Teams: They were very good last year and it looks like the Redskins will go into 2007 with the exact same group. Of course, the great Canadian hope Shaun Suisham could break my heart and go back to being a scrub but I have faith in my fellow Canuck. Him aside, the coverage units are good and the return guys are solid.
The Secondary: Springs, Rogers, Smoot, Taylor, Landry. Its got to be good right?

Give me another glass of the kool-aid. I’m back on the bandwagon baby.